Resistance
by theboringdolphin
Summary: A criminal on the run. A dutiful enforcer with unwavering ideals placed upon him. A community that seems the epitome of Utopia. Welcome to Attica, where criminals given a second chance are treated like dogs, society is blind, and a madman runs free. Where a rebellion is on the rise and a woman is demented with her ideals. Resistance is futuile. Can love bloom in such a place?
1. Chapter 1 Beautiful

_Hello everyone! Yes, this is a new story I've been working on for the past four? five? maybe, months! This story is a bit different... I'd like to think so..._

_Now, I got the idea a long time ago when I read __**The Giver**__, when I saw the anime __**No. 6**__, when I saw the anime __**Psycho Pass**__ (especially), when I read __**Divergent**__ and __**The Hunger Games**__. All of it came to me to form this story... a society desperate for a utopian world, for an idealistic place in which crime can be prevented. In which there are no differences, a place where everything is accepted without a fuss. Without war, without hate, a place where we, as humans have come to an understanding and tolerance. _

_I know, heavy topic huh? _

_Can utopia really be reached?_

**_Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson and The Olympians_**

**_*Important thing to note*_**

_So I decided to put this together with the first chapter, I don't know, just my decision heh, thank you for reading!_

* * *

><p><em>Beautiful<em>

Porcelain skin.

Ebony hair, as dark as night itself.

I watched him, from afar in this train made of metal.

Beautiful.

That one word, was the only word I could think of. He truly was beautiful. Looking at him, it was mesmerizing even. The way he captured my attention from the moment I was put in this train to be transported to hell, he was entrancing. He was hypnotizing. Never did I ever think with all of my bad luck, that I would ever find someone like him. Well, at least not again... I never thought I would get a second chance?

It was an anomaly in the grand scheme of things- because he did his best to blend in with _us_. Us being the _prisoners_- although we're not exactly called that yet. No, we're called _latent criminals_. That's what we are... _criminals_. We did things to warrant our arrest and to be transported to the place where no one in the comfy and lavish community knew about. A place where keeping your sanity is your priority. It was always something to be discussed, to keep in check your mind and emotions, because they were a dangerous thing.

But currently, my mind was focused on something else or rather someone else. I just couldn't keep my eyes off of him. What was it about him that made it so hard to ignore? The more I looked at him, the more I found myself wanting to get closer to him. To talk to him, get to know his story. What he did to get here. He was wearing normal clothing, so that ruled out my interest in his attire. Normal black pants, and a normal white t-shirt, with normal black shoes. Nothing about his clothes caught my attention. It was just him. I sighed once, and looked down. Trying to build up my courage to go over there and talk to him. Unfortunately, my nerves got the best of me and I stayed glued to my seat. I looked around the room and saw the guards, dressed in their black clothing, with their weapons in position to fire if someone stepped out of line.

They were stationed at the doors, blocking all forms of escape. It would've been idiotic if someone were to do that anyway. They would find you in less than a day, and by then, well you'd be less fortunate. We were allowed to move around so long as we didn't cause trouble. I saw a few criminals, a mix of both men and women all around the train. Some were sitting others were standing, some were chatting nervously while others sat quietly, you could see the fear in everyone's eyes.

My eyes flickered back up and I found myself staring straight into his dark brown eyes, that seemed abysmal. He stared at me, his face devoid of any emotion, eyes dull, and I felt my cheeks fill with color as he kept looking at me. Then he looked away, but I found myself unable to move, let alone breath.

"You're staring." I heard a feminine voice whisper lowly to me. I looked to my right and there was this girl sitting beside me, studying me intently. My mouth felt dry, and I found myself unable to speak. She smiled softly at me. "It's okay to stare. He is rather pretty looking- for a boy."

I felt myself blush as she bluntly stated what I had been thinking. But he was more than pretty.

"I'd say he is beautiful." My mouth moved of its own accord.

"Mm," her smile grew as she looked at me, her eyes sparkling. I couldn't exactly pinpoint their exact color, they kept changing. "My name is Piper McLean."

"I'm Percy Jackson." I introduced myself to the girl, Piper.

She had brown, chestnut hair, that was cut to look choppy with a stray braid or two done randomly and a blue feather stuck on her head. Her skin was tan but a bit darker than tan actually and her eyes were like a kaleidoscope, shifting from different colors depending on the light. She was extremely pretty I'll admit, but never as gorgeous as the boy with porcelain skin.

"What are you in for?" she asked me, polite enough so as not to make me feel uncomfortable. Nonetheless, I still made a face, not wanting to talk about it. "I see... you're not a talker, well I'm in here because a club was raided and they caught me. They also caught my friend there," she pointed to a Hispanic boy, with black curly hair, wild and untamed. He had light brown eyes that danced with mischief and a smirk that told anyone who gave him a glance that he was up to no good, but I already knew him. I had bought something off of him three years ago... something that helped me stay hidden for this long...

"Leo Valdez," we both said at the same time, and she looked over at me, an eyebrow raised up, surprise on her face. She quickly composed herself and merely gave me a shrug.

"Well, seems like you know him... but of course the Enforcers had been trying tirelessly to capture Leo for some time now." She shook her head as a small smile dared to play on her lips. "He's a fairly good friend of mine."

"Yes, I know him. He sells technology on the black market... well he used to sell technology on the black market, what with his capture. Why were you in a club?"

Her lips tilted up minutely as she looked at me, and I realized it was pretty daring of me to ask her that question. It was really me being nosy because I hadn't even answered her question.

Piper's lips quirked up as she answered my question anyway. "Well, I was part of a band of revolutionaries that had been trying to open the eyes of the public. My friends Silena Beauregard, Clarisse La Rue, and Adam Fernandez over there were also caught alongside me."

I looked to see where she had pointed. A girl, with long, straight, brunette hair and big blues eyes, peach skin and a slim figure was sitting. She was incredibly pretty, and I couldn't believe that she was part of a revolutionary group. She was sitting to next a girl, with red-brown wavy hair, mean looking brown eyes and a scowl that seemed permanently etched on her face. And then, behind the two girls sat a boy, about my age with light brown hair and dark brown eyes, he was lean yet with a bit of a muscular build. He looked at ease, almost a bit serene considering where we were all heading to. I looked back to the boy with eyes like dark chocolate as he looked outside the window with dull eyes, and I began to wonder what his name was, what he had done, what kind of story he had to tell. Was it possible to fall in love at first sight? Did that even exist anymore? Especially with the way things were run in Attica... Did I really just fall in love? Again? Was it possible to get a second chance at love?

I shook my head to get out of my musings and looked away, it would be best to do it now and not have him catch me looking at him. God, how embarrassing would that be. I briefly wondered how much time had passed... we had been riding this train for a good 30 minutes. We had been taken from the underground cell we had been placed in, all 150 of us prisoners being transported to a place called _Attica Annex Correctional Facility_. At least that was what the Enforcers told us when they captured us. I wondered how far this place was.

Slowly, my eyes started to droop, and I felt extremely tired. I figured a small nap wouldn't hurt.

"Hey, are you tired?" Piper's voice shook me awake just a bit.

"A bit, I haven't slept in since yesterday..." I trailed off. Yesterday... had been the day I was captured. The look of disgust on the Enforcer's face...

"You can sleep a bit if you want? From what I've found out, we're going to be on this train for another good three hours." Piper told me. "You can sleep, I'll wake you when we get near to our own little hell."

I looked at her for awhile, wondering why she was being so nice to me and how calm she was considering we were going to prison.

"Thank you," I settled for a smile. She returned it.

I sat lower in my seat, let my head fall against the window and slowly went to sleep.

...

"Mom! I'm home!" I called out to my mother.

Sally Jackson, a beautiful woman, married to Poseidon Jackson, a handsome man. People said I may have looked like my father, but I had gotten most of my mother's traits and personality. My mother was playful and kind. She was compassionate and a bit of a rebel. It wasn't a mystery that my father had fallen in love with her. She had dark brown black hair, with blue eyes, a slim figure and a dazzling smile. My father was a bit of a mischievous man, a man who was playful and fun yet stern when need be. I hadn't always been the perfect child. Like my father I was a mischievous boy at heart, but like my mother I often thought of others. My father had black, windswept hair, tan skin that seemed to be bathed in sunlight on a daily basis, and a muscular build. But his most prominent and probably most memorable features were his eyes, which I had inherited. Sea green eyes that seemed to hold the ocean in them.

"Hey mom! I'm home and I'm super hungry!" I called out to my mother. I was 18 years old again, coming home from my first day at college. I walked through my old yet familiar house. The memories flooded back from the recesses of my mind.

The old house. Well, it was more modern than the houses from outside Attica, or so I was told before, but a bit dated compared to the ones inside the community. On the outside, it was brick, reddish brown brick. The door was oak with a small window in the center made of stained glass, of red, white and yellow. There was a huge window off to the side near the door, that had an amazing view of this park where a big lake lay. The house was three stories tall. Once the door opened up, you were greeted with the living room, that was painted orange and yellow and red, warm colors chosen by my mother who with my father's help decorated the room. There was a huge couch that was a light coffee brown color, and a love seat on one side of the room that matched, along with a single armchair. The TV was propped up against the wall, with the DVD and cable box underneath and off to the side on a shelf were movies.

My little brother, Tyson Jackson, had toys scattered here and there on the wooden floors. I walked on through the house, throwing my book bag on the armchair. My mother would scold me later. I came upon the dinning room next, where a huge wooden table with white chairs stood. I walked on, coming into the kitchen. With its granite counters and the island that stood in the middle. The stove was steel along with the fridge, and in the oven, I smelled cookies cooking. My mother's famous blue chocolate chip cookies that I loved so much. I went past the kitchen to the stairs that led to the bedrooms.

As I climbed the stairs, a feeling of dread worked it's way inside me. Somehow I felt uneasy and I finally realized my house hadn't greeted me when I first walked in through the door. I ran up the stairs and stopped near the touch screen panel off to the side that was put there so that every family member per household could touch the screen and out would pop an injection that would help one get through their day. I knew exactly what these injections did to a person... I saw the panel and saw that it was on but it hadn't greeted me at all. I found that strange and the uneasy feeling in my gut only got worse the closer I got to the bedrooms.

As I walked on, I looked down and my mother's beautiful wooden floors were stained in a dark red substance. A trail of this dark red substance kept going on into my brother's bedroom. I was confused as to why there was this... paint? On my mother's floor. It hadn't fully registered in my mind what this was exactly. The closer I got, the more of this I saw and suddenly I was at my brothers door. Slowly I opened it... on my brother's bed, I saw him. Tyson. Sweet, small Tyson. With big blue eyes and a kind smile. Who would always ask far too many questions and was a complete ball of sunshine. On his bed... his bloody bed... with his limbs chopped off. His head was ripped off his shoulders and propped on top of the bed post. A scream was ripped from my throat and before I knew it, I was running out of the room.

_"Mom!"_

I ran into my mother's bedroom and I saw my mother and father, nailed to the wall. A knife was embedded in my mother's head. My father's throat was slashed, blood flowing down.

_"No. No. No! NO! NO!"_

My knees bucked and I fell down.

My parent's bodies were mangled and bloody and twisted so horrifically. My beautiful mother, my strong father, my sweet, innocent brother... all dead.

**"Percy Jackson,"** the robotic voice of my house spoke, although it sounded a bit different, **"you have killed your family. My duty is to hold you here until the Enforcers arrive."**

"What _no,_ Anna, I didn't _m-murder_ them! Someone else did! _I didn't murder my family!_ Please Anna listen!"

**"My duty is to hold you, until the Enforcers arrive. Murder is a serious crime in Attica. Attica is safe. Attica is secure. Attica is controlled."** Anna spoke in her robotic, monotone voice.

"I-I... I gotta go... _I gotta leave..._ I gotta hide... w-where am I... _where am I gonna go?!_" I turned around in a full circle, raking my hands through my hair. I ran to the door and tried to open it only to find I was locked on the inside. I ran to the window and found the same thing. The glass had been changed so that it was unbreakable now.

"_Anna!_ Let me out! I _didn't_ kill my mom, my dad, my little _brother_!" My voice cracked at the end.

Tyson would never be able to live out his life. He died at 8 years of age. My mother would never be with me. She was taken too early from me. My father was no longer the strong man he was. I would no longer see that mischievous smirk that would play on his face, so similar to mine own.

**"You are to remain still Percy Jackson. Your psycho hue is well above 200. If it does not lower, I will have to use the Stinger. Percy Jackson, your hue is cloudy. A cloudy psycho stat could be dangerous to the outside world."**

"Shut up! Anna shut up! Shut up! _Shut the fuck up!_"

**"Your psycho hue is 247. And my scanner is picking up anger, confusion, frustration, sadness and hostility. Please stay put. The Enforcers are wel-we-well it- the- Enforcers-Enforc- on the way- wa-w-way..."**

I looked back at Anna and realized the panel was short circuiting. Anna was slowly shutting down. And I didn't know why. Soon enough, I heard the door unlock and open just a crack.

_'Should I run? Or should I stay put and see if I can try to convince them I hadn't murdered my family. What should I do? The Enforcers were well on their way... if I ran... I would be a wanted criminal... what should I do?'_

I had money saved up from various jobs I had done from two years ago. I had close to $3,900 I could probably make it if I ran but... what if I stayed?

"If you stay, you're an even bigger fool than I thought," a sudden voice appeared. A voice I would come to know so well... a voice that would haunt me in my sleep, in my dreams, in every moment of my life. A voice that sounded smooth, so smooth and crystal clear. A voice that sounded cruel and... bored? It sounded bored, almost tired that it was doing this.

"Honestly, here I am giving you another chance to escape." The voice laughed, no, it mocked. "And you're being the ultimate idiot by staying!"

"W-who are you?!" I shouted.

His laughed turned more evil, if that was even possible. "I'm the man who killed your family. And you can't prove your innocence because I've made sure that your prints and DNA are all over the place. So it looks like you've killed them. You've got ten minutes to make up your mind."

I was frozen to the spot, my mind couldn't comprehend what he had just said. He killed... my family... and framed me? No. No. It wasn't possible. I- no! My mom, my dad, Tyson! Dead! And... he killed them.

Ten minutes. I had ten minutes to decide. Should I run? What would happen to me if I ran?

_"James."_

That name. And that voice. That sweet, melodious voice. I never thought I would ever hear it again. Yet here I heard it. Forever imprinted in my mind.

_"James."_

The light lilt, the small giggle, the breathy laugh. All from one beautiful girl.

_"James."_

Daniela. Danny.

"Percy!"

My eyes opened abruptly and the bright fluorescent light that streamed down shocked me, making me close my eyes fast.

"You're sweating. So much. Are you okay?" I heard Piper's voice, concern lacing her words.

A sharp intake of breath, I opened up my eyes, my chest heaving. I looked at the girl beside me and slowly nodded my head.

"Y-yeah..." my voice trembled and I hated it. "I'm- fine."

Piper studied me before she nodded once. "Well... we're almost there."

"Uh, okay... thanks for waking me up."

"Yeah."

The prison came into view then. A dull, gray building, made of concrete. The train started to slow down, and the guards started to order everyone to sit down in an orderly fashion. A big, huge iron gate, about 50 feet tall opened up to let the train through. Once we passed, I saw them close. Forever trapping us inside. I suddenly felt suffocated, claustrophobic. As if I were going to be trapped under a tomb. My heart sped up, my pulse quickening and I felt myself go into shock. Suddenly, for the first time, I felt the reality of my situation fully sink in. I would stay here, never to see the outside world again, never to feel the things I felt after I stopped taking those injections, never to... be free again.

**"Everyone please stand up,"** Anna's voice filtered through the speakers of the train. **"You will be given a set of numbers, all of you are to leave the train in two lines; one for men and one for women. Once You reach the front of the building, you will all be lead into a room where you will be asked to take a test."**

My lips tilted down and my eyebrows furrowed. A test? What test? For what reason? Everyone got up as soon as the train came to a stop.

"Good luck." Piper whispered to me before being led out.

As we moved out of the train and across the walk-way to the dull building, I found myself frantically searching for the boy with pale skin, but I don't see him anywhere.

"Keep it moving, scum!" I'm pushed forward roughly by a guard.

Biting my tongue I move along, but my eyes keep looking for skin that's pale white and beautiful brown eyes.

We come to a stop in front of a set of double doors made of glass. A woman with black hair and brown eyes stands next to a guy with blond, curly hair and blue eyes. The woman seems familiar... like I've seen her before but- where?

"Welcome prisoners. My name is Rose, I'm an Enforcer and this man next to me is Will. We are here to take you to the testing rooms, where you are to take a mandatory exam. I will take the men, Will will take the women."

We followed the two Enforcers inside, the double doors slid open and once in, there were even more guards, more Enforcers and prisoners going to and fro. We follow the Enforcers and turn a corner, going left where we reach a door. Same as the double doors, made of glass and it opens up. We walk through where we reach this white, sterile room. Sort of like a hospital room except it's possibly a lot more cleaner and there are no medical machines. There are chairs, so many chairs with a weird thing that seems big enough for a head to fit, hanging on in the back of the chair. The room itself is huge and wide and... just plain gigantic.

"Ladies! Follow me through his door!" The blond known as Will calls out. There seems to be more men than women. Out of the 150 people, since the women left, there are At least 100 men, meaning there were only 50 women on that train. I look back at the woman, known as Rose and a memory starts to tug at the back of my mind. She looks way too familiar and it's bothering me that I can't seem to remember her.

"Excuse me, but what's this test for?" A blond with a scar running from the bottom of his left eye to just above his lip asks Rose, a scowl on his face.

"It's to see if... some of you have this special ability that we might use or need..."

"What ability? And how would you use it?" Leo asked Rose.

"Well, it's not exactly an ability more like... a way into seeing how your mind works..."

"Why?"

"Well, those who pass... you'll find out soon enough. Now, get in the chairs."

I was amazed the Enforcer didn't snap at us for asking her questions, let alone she answered them. Enforcers weren't known to be kind to us criminals... so it was no wonder neither of us put up a fight when she told us to get in the chair.

"Now, you won't be harmed or anything of the sort. But you won't be awake for the test either." Once we sat down, the straps around the chair tightened around us, making it impossible to get out.

"What? But how would we take the test?" Another blond curly haired, blue eyed man asked. He reminded me of that Enforcer... Will... just a bit.

"As I said, this is to see how your mind works. The questions asked will make you question your motives, your sanity, what you've been taught to think is right and the ideals placed upon you. If you're aware of this, well, your answers would certainly differ so that in our eyes you would be perceived as good. But see, we're not exactly looking for that. And to get straight answers, you need to do things just a bit... differently." The white machines that were attached to the back of the chair moved forward until it covered our heads entirely.

"Good luck." That was the last thing I heard before everything went black.

The woman, Rose. I realized now she has a small mole, right under in the corner of her left eye... just like her...

...

"James."

Danny?

"I love you, my dear." My mind takes me back to my old apartment. There I see a head of beautiful pink hair. Pink hair. Peculiar isn't it? Pink hair and beautiful blue eyes. Daniela. Danny. My beautiful girl.

"James, once your birthday comes, we'll celebrate! Won't it be fun?!" Danny went in to the kitchen. "All of our friends and food and-"

I snuck up behind her and wound my arms around her curvy figure. She was short, standing at 5'5, but she was tough as nails sweet as sugar.

"Love?" I nuzzle my face in the back of her neck and I feel the small shiver that runs down her spine.

"James..." her voice is breathy, "you know what that does to me..."

"Come on, it's Sunday and it's 12 in the afternoon and I think it's far too early to be up."

"James!" Danny squeals as I drag her to the bedroom. Our bedroom.

I pin Danny to the wall and kiss her roughly. I bite her bottom lip softly and she opens her mouth, letting me in to explore her. She tastes like apples and cinnamon, and her smell is intoxicating. Slowly, I begin to undress her. I start to take off her yellow dress, and it falls down to the floor with a small thud. I cup her tender breasts and start to play with them. I pinch her softly and I hear a breathy moan escape her mouth.

"Mmm, Percy..."

My hands freeze. She's never called me _Percy _before. She never knew about _Percy Jackson. _

I look up and I see her face. Her once beautiful face, skinless. All I see is a skull with hollow sockets for eyes.

"What's the matter James? Don't you love me anymore? Why'd you kill me Percy? Why did you kill me? Why did you kill me? _WHY DID YOU KILL ME?!_"

My eyes fly open and a bright light is the first thing I see. Rose is standing over me, studying me intently and I have no idea what I did. I look around me and see I'm the only one with the machine over my head.

"W-what just happened?" I ask, I see my hand trembling slightly and Rose takes notice as well. I hide my hand and look at the Enforcer in the eyes.

Rose is so familiar to her... the one Enforcer who had a kind soul... the one who let me go...

Even the small mole in the corner of her left eye... she had that too.

"You're done taking the test." Rose finally speaks up. I can hear a bit of an accent lacing her words. "Here, put this on your shirt."

She hands me a green tag that I stick on my shirt. On it are a bunch of numbers saying _34519 _and with a green bar across under the number.

"What's this for?" I ask and then bite my tongue. This Enforcer has been nice enough, I really shouldn't push it, especially with my luck.

"You'll find out soon enough once everyone finishes the test and we move to a different room. Don't worry, I think you'll like it once you find out." Rose smiled at me and I couldn't help but smile back, all the while thinking of the Enforcer that let me escape, _Marisol. _

Soon, I heard a small beep and on this table that wasn't there before, was a machine. From that machine, out popped a slip of paper and three chairs down from my left the white machine attached to the chair lifted to reveal the blond with blue eyes and a scar running down his face. He moved his head, looking dazed and Rose took the slip of paper and told him to put it on his shirt. The tag had a set of numbers and a green bar underneath.

The process repeated until all of the men woke up and were given a tag. Some had green, but they were very few while the majority of the men had a black bar underneath.

"Okay criminals, we're moving out! Follow me!" Rose leads us all to a different room, three doors down. By the outside, you wouldn't think it would be big enough to hold us all but I was surprised because it held all of the men with Rose and the women that had gone with Will.

"Now then," the blond named Will spoke up, "the ones with the black bar underneath, all of you go with Enforcer Mike. The ones with green, stay put."

The people with the black bar all shuffled out, some of them looking weary while others thought that they probably hit the jackpot or something. It made me wonder what was going on. Out of the 50 girls there were only 13 with the green bars. Piper was among them, as were Clarisse and Silena, a certain blonde with blue eyes that I had seen talking with the blond with the scar. Out of the 100 men only 17 of us had the green bar. Among us were the two blondes, Leo, that guy named Adam and myself.

"The ones in green," Will continued, "are the ones that have passed the test. That number that was given to you will lead you to your partner, an Enforcer. What is this, you ask. It's a second chance at redemption. A second chance to come back in to the community. The test you took to see how your mind worked around a problem helped us decide whether or not you would become a _hound. _Surely, you all know who they are?"

Will waited for us to nod our heads.

The hounds were criminals who had been given a second chance to work under the _AECPC. _They lived under the building and they worked alongside Enforcers but they could never marry and could never fully be part of Attica as before. They were in the system but they were below those that handled garbage. To be a hound... that meant you were expected to kill criminals that had gone off the deep end...

Could I really do that?

"What if we don't want to be hounds?" The blond with the scar asked out loud. He sure had a mouth on him didn't he? Then again, so did I.

"Well, you go to prison, take your injections, take medications to dull you so you become nothing more than a mindless person. Of course the course of action in which we handle you in prison goes according to the crime you did..." Rose lets that hang in the air. "But think of it this way Luke, if you chose to become a hound, you can still play your guitar no problem. And you get to drink actual alcohol..."

So that ruled out my option to not become a hound. If I didn't forget ever thinking ever again.

"Now then, Rose will take 15 of you and I'll take the other 15. Fifteen of you will be going to Tribeka, our sister community and train to become hounds over there, the other half, Rose will take you outside where you will meet your partner and then be put on a train where you'll be transported not far from here to train for one month and become a hound. Good luck." With that, Will gathered his fifteen people that had an extra bar with a purple color I hadn't noticed before and led them out.

"Okay, let's go." Rose turned and let us out the way we came in.

We passed by many doors, some of which were glass and I could see through them but others were pitch black. Everything was metal and shiny. Metal stairs that spiraled and led up to probably offices, had Enforcers and then normal looking people going up and down. I saw two people wearing lab coats carrying lunch go through a pitch black door. I wondered if they were doctors.

"Now then, once outside, I will call out your name and number and you will meet your partner." Rose spoke.

The more I heard her voice, the more it sounded like Marisol to me. I couldn't help but wonder what happened to that girl... she helped me escape and I still don't what happened. Did she get caught? Did she not? If it became known what she did, what happened to her? All of these questions swimming through my head and I just... I couldn't get her out because I saw Rose and then I saw Marisol.

_I ran. I ran like hell. I grabbed my book bag._

_Ten minutes he said. _He _said._

_I stuffed two pairs of pants, three pairs of shirts and four pairs of underwear. I looked at my clock._

_Now I had five minutes. _

_I had stayed down on my knees like an idiot and wasted two minutes that I needed to get out._

_There was now way now I would ever be able to prove my innocence._

_I had to run._

_I opened my safe and grabbed the rolls of cash I had been saving and put it inside my bag. I went past my parent's room and closed the door. I stopped by Tyson's room._

_"I'm sorry... I'm sorry little bro but... I gotta leave." _

_Tears ran down my face as I bolted down the stairs and out through the back door._

_I crossed the road, not caring that it was a green light but unfortunately I didn't see that it was the Enforcer's cars. _

_"Stop! Percy Jackson stop where you're going and put your hands up!"_

_I ran across the side walk as they gave chase on both foot and car. I looked behind me to see three guys in suits with their guns pointed at me._

_The hounds._

_I turned a corner and ran down until I came upon an alley way. I jogged down the alley and came across an opening for a sewer pipe. Slowly I opened it, it seemed like it took forever because the lid was so heavy but once it came out I went down the steps and put the lid back on. I climbed down until I hit the floor, making a splash and wetting my feet and the bottom of my jeans._

_This was it. I was a wanted criminal on the run. All because they thought I killed my family._

_I ran, not knowing where I was going. Not knowing what I was going to do. How I was going to survive, to hide. I felt hopeless and I felt angry. I felt sorrow. My family was taken from me by a man who's face was unidentifiable and the blame was put on me._

_"You there! Stop!" I heard a voice behind me._

_I turned around and saw a girl with black hair and dark brown eyes. She was wearing the uniform of an Enforcer and held her gun in position._

_"P-please... don't shoot." I plead with her._

_"T-they're looking for you... Percy Jackson. Stay put, more Enforcers are on their way!" The girl seemed terrified._

_"Wait! Please wait! Just- just wait! I'm innocent! I swear! I didn't kill my family... I- I didn't kill them- I..." my voice cracked as more tears flowed down my face, my legs gave out and I fell on my knees. _

_This was it. I would be captured and probably killed. I would die and everyone would think I was responsible for the deaths of my mom, my dad, and my little brother._

_I guess she must've seen how pathetic I looked because she lowered her gun._

_"I- I don't know why... or how... but somehow I feel that you're telling the truth..."_

_I look at her, shock evident on my face._

_"Go. Run!" _

_I stay glued to my spot until she comes closer and shakes me. I look her right in the eyes. And there's a small mole on the corner under her left eye. _

_"W-what?"_

_"Run! Go! Leave! Address 215 Palisade Avenue right next to this deli, Gio's Deli, there's a boy named Leo Valdez. He can help you hide and create a new life but you must go now! Run!"_

_I get up on shaky legs and turn to leave only to look back. _

_"Wait! Wh-what's your name? I gotta know your name please! You saved me, I can't forget you."_

_The Enforcer looked unsure and hesitated._

_"Please." I plead with her._

_"M-Marisol."_

"Hey," I tap Rose's shoulder and hope I didn't just step out of line. But Rose just looks back at me, a single eyebrow raised.

"Yes?"

"I-is there a girl... an Enforcer named... Marisol?"

Rose's eyes widen for one second before she composes herself.

"No. There was never an Enforcer named Marisol."

"A-are you sure? I mean... it's just..."

"Percy, Marisol isn't in the system. She doesn't exist."

I ponder what Rose has just said to me and I can't help but feel that something is rather odd about her answer. I look to my right and see Adam studying me intently, as if my conversation with Rose interested him but... why?

We're outside of the building and a train like the one that transported us before, except this one is smaller waits for us.

"Now then," Rose speaks up, "I'll call out your name and number and the Enforcer that recognizes the number will step forward and that's your partner. Apollo Solace; number _98762 _you're with Enforcer Thalia Grace."

A girl with bright, electric blue eyes, black hair cut in a pixie style with a single blue streak going down her side bangs, fair skin with a bit of freckles and short of height steps up. The blond named Apollo steps up and walks towards her. He's got blond curly hair, a muscular build and bright blue eyes. He was the one that reminded me of Will.

"Piper McLean; number _14568, _you're with Annabeth Chase."

A blonde, pretty girl with long, bouncy curls and stormy gray eyes steps up and Piper makes her way to her.

"Clarisse La Rue; number _13986, _you're with Chris Rodriguez."

A guy with a lean frame, brown hair and light brown eyes steps forward and Clarisse makes her way towards him, a scowl on her face.

"Leo Valdez; number _13894, _you're with Jason Grace."

Grace, the same name as the other girl, were they siblings? A blond with blue eyes and tan skin and a small scar on his upper lip stepped up. Leo made his way over to him and I noticed how small Leo looked compared to Jason, especially since Jason was muscular.

"Silena Beauregard; number _16345, _you're with Charles Beckendorf."

"Call me Beckendorf though." A guy who was African American with light brown hair and light brown eyes, a very muscular build, as if he played football and tall stature stepped up.

"Amber Lockser; number _21346, _you're with Will Solace."

"And I'm here." Will suddenly appeared behind us and Amber followed.

Amber was a girl with straight long, golden blonde hair, it showered her back like a curtain and baby blue eyes with peach skin.

"Adam Fernandez; number _23681, _you're with Reyna Avila Rameriz-Arellano."

"Quite the reunion huh, sis?" Adam said as he passed by Rose and walked towards a girl with dark chestnut brown hair, dark brown eyes and a fit build.

"Luke Castellan; number _13418, _you're with me." Rose said. "And finally, Percy Jackson; number _34519, _you're with Nico di Angelo."

I looked up and saw the beautiful boy I had fallen in love with in the train. At first I was relieved... to see he was fine, alright and not hurt. But then, it sunk in that _he _was an _Enforcer._

His dark brown eyes that had been so dull on the train looked at me, in disgust. A horrible scowl marred his beautiful features. He looked down at me and his brown orbs regarded me coldly.

No, it couldn't be. This couldn't be the beautiful boy I fell in love with, right? This man in front of me was a double... he had to be. How could that beautiful face make such a horrible look of pure disgust. Those dark brown eyes that seemed warm made me want to look away.

He didn't even know me and here he was judging me. And I hated him. I hated him because in his eyes, I was seen as nothing other than scum.

His dark brown eyes that I had found so beautiful and now were nothing but ugly pools of mud, looked down on me.

The message was clear as day.

_Welcome to hell you sea green eyed killer._

* * *

><p><strong><em>AACF- <em>Attica Annex Correctional Facility**

_Criminals are transported through a special train with **Enforcers **on board, some disguised as criminals._

**_ACE- _Attica Crime Enforcers**

_They're the police, the ones who keep everything in order with the help of the hounds._

_**AECPC-**_** Attica Enforcer Corporation & Patrol Center**

_The building where Enforcers and Patrols work, take on missions, work on cases, sort of like a police station in our world._

**_AATO System or Anna_- Attica Alpha Tribeka Omega**

_The system that was placed in both the community of Attica and Tribeka when these two communities were given the go. These communities were founded by Gaea, 30 years ago and are still in testing mode. People across America were invited, welcomed to come in and start life anew in this community where everything was tolerated and everyone was accepted. Anna was created by Gaea and a group of scientist, she works all around Attica and Tribeka, acting as the command system that powers the community. Anna chooses a list of jobs to present to a person after they graduate high school so that a person could narrow down their focus into certain categories while attending college. Once out of a college, Anna has a job space open for the graduate._

**_Tribeka_**

_The sister community run by Atlas, Gaea's right hand man. Just like Attica, Tribeka is run peacefully, worry-free._

**_In both Attica and Tribeka, everything is safe!_**

Let's learn about the Enforcers...

_Enforcers and Hounds have a bracelet or wristband that can read a person's psycho stat or hue._

_Hounds are the criminals or latent criminals who work under the Enforcers. They were caught doing something illegal or were charged, they took a test before entering the AACF and based on that test were sent to the branch of the AACF where they train for a month to become hounds. Hounds do the dirty work; i.e killing a person instead of making the Enforcer do it since their psycho hue is already damaged. They live with the Enforcer they are partnered up with for three years until they are deemed trustworthy enough to live on their under own under the AECPC building._

**_TG-_ Transform Gun**

_It's connected to the bracelet/wristband and whatever number of a person's hue/stat the wristband/bracelet reads, the TG will transform to the appropriate mode to take down the person, who is a danger to the community._

**_Stun- _**_to stun a person who's psycho stat is between 100-200 for 30 minutes until they can be detained and brought to therapy as recommended by Anna._

**_Sting- _**_shoots an electric sting so strong a person blacks out because of the pain. Only to be used on a person with the psycho hue of 200-300_

**_Doom-_**_ only to be used for a person who is beyond help, with the psycho stat of 300 and up. It will kill the person, a blue orb that once contact with a person's body will blow up the body. Only the hounds use this mode._


	2. Chapter 2 Sea Green Eyed Killer

_Hello everyone! Thank you all so much for reading my story!_

_Yeah, I decided to instead post the info chapter and the first chapter together... sorry about that._

_Now, POVs will change, from Nico's to Percy's to... whomever I feel needs to tell the this story so that it moves along. I will try to make it obvious who's POV it is._

**_Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson and The Olympians_**

* * *

><p><em>Sea Green Eyed Killer<em>

Disgusting. Horrible. Unclean. Psycho.

Damn killer.

With his pathetic green eyes.

I get a damn killer as my dog.

Fucking perfect.

Percy Jackson. The one who murdered his mother, his father, his eight year old brother. Jason got a guy who sold tech on the black market. Reyna got a guy who forged fake documents. Will got a girl who was in a band illegally. I got a guy who killed his own family. Just my damn luck! Not only did this disgusting human being get a second chance at life when he should be tried for first degree murder, he was qualified to become a hound and actually get to roam the streets of Attica. Sure, he will need to be accompanied by me, but it's like he's walking free after what he did!

Who in their right mind would kill their own family? Who would do such a thing? It was completely... it was a... it's insane! I hate him. I hate Percy Jackson with every fiber of my being. That damn man, who was lucky to have a family... and he kills them! A family. A beautiful family from what the reports had said. He was crazy, insane, psychopathic. He doesn't deserve a second chance. He deserves death, but even then, death would be a sweet release. I see the hounds in training board the train and see the small train start take off. That damn Percy Jackson looked back twice, as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing, before getting on. My scowl deepened and I turned around, wanting to leave the facility.

It had been a long day. Two days ago, the higher ups had asked me to board the train in disguise, there were some criminals being transported. That was today, and I completed my mission, although I felt sullied. I wanted nothing more than to go home and take a shower.

"There's a helicopter on its way to take us home," Jason said out loud.

"Nice, we'll get home pretty quick then, we won't have to wait for the next train." Will smirked.

"Hey Will, wasn't that your brother there?" Chris asked him.

Will turned to look at him, his lips tilting down. "Yeah, and we also saw Octavian's older brother too."

"Does Octavian know his brother is a hound?" Annabeth spoke up.

"Don't think so." Will shrugged his shoulders.

Soon we heard a loud noise and I looked up to see the helicopter land on the roof.

"Well, let's get going." Rose said as she started to walk back inside.

I still couldn't believe that that killer got a second chance. It wasn't fair. It was wrong. I felt my lips tilt down as we continued to walk. We turned a corner and stopped in front of the elevator. Rose pushed the button and soon, it came down. We all boarded the elevator and Jason pushed the button for the roof. Slowly, we ascended up and I couldn't help the memory that surfaced. A memory that I did not want to remember.

The noises... the sounds...

I still remember how confused I was when I got home from school. I was confused because as I walked closer to my house, I see Enforcers and three ambulances in front of my house. As I got closer, I saw the neighbors outside, standing close, talking to each other.

"Unbelievable! He was such a calm man! He loved his wife, his children... how could he do such a thing?" That was Ms. Betty's voice. She always seemed to make the best cookies.

"Was the boy inside?" Another voice asked.

"No, they say he's at school... poor boy, when he gets home, the emotional pain he's going to feel."

"I'm sure they'll offer him the injection... maybe?"

"That won't erase what the father did..."

"Not to mention, he'll soon have to face _this _line of work, I'm not so sure they'll give him the injection. My son, I told you how he became one of the Enforcers... and he-"

"Honestly Elma, the boy's family! The tragedy that occurred and you're talking about your son!"

"Oh Betty, I was just explaining..."

I got closer and closer, my pulse picking up, a cold feeling settling in my stomach. I didn't know why, but something felt off... I saw my house finally come into view. I started to pick up my pace but stopped once I saw the EMTs rolling out in a gurney a body. And then another body. My blood ran cold and I stopped dead in my tracks. This... couldn't be right... I couldn't actually be seeing this, could I? My eyes must be deceiving me... I ran up to the first Enforcer I saw.

"W-what happened? Why are you all in my house? What's going on?" Panic seized me, made me tremble with fear at the answers that the Enforcers were sure to give me.

"Are you Nico di Angelo?" One of them asked me and I nodded my head, confirming the answer.

"There's someone that needs to speak with you. Please, follow me."

So I did, I followed the Enforcer to another car, and there I saw a woman with light brown hair, forest green eyes and fair skin. She was wearing a blank pant suit with a dark green shirt and a black suit jacket over the shirt. I knew her, I had met her a few times. Her and my dad were long time friends. Gaea.

"Hello Nico," she spoke softly, her eyes sad.

"Hello Gaea..." I said, then looked away, a question itching to get out.

"I am... sorry to inform you my dear, but... your mother and sister..." Gaea spoke, getting straight to the point, not even needing my question to tell me what was wrong.

I shook my head, not wanting to hear but knowing I had to.

"Are dead. Killed, by..." her voice faltered, "your father..."

My head snapped up. My father killed my mother and sister? My beautiful mother and sister? Why?

"No... no this is- wrong..." my mouth moved on its own.

"I am so sorry my dear, but... Anna, she- recorded the sounds of struggle- she tried to detain him in the house... my dear, I am so very sorry... my Enforcers are out there, right now looking for him, we will not let him escape. I will do everything I can to find Hades... I will." Gaea said, determination in her voice, knowing she had to be the anchor for the distraught boy.

This couldn't be right. I couldn't seem to wrap my head around the fact that... my own father had killed my mother, the woman he loved, my sister, his own flesh and blood. I couldn't- didn't want to believe it. I just... this was a dream. This had to be a dream.

But this wasn't a dream. It wasn't and I broke down crying in front of Gaea, who offered kind words and a hug as a form of comfort. What sort of comfort could be provided when a person finds out their family had been murdered?

"Nico?" Jason interrupted my memory and brought me back to the present.

"Yes?"

"We've reached the roof, let's go."

I nodded once and followed the rest of my colleagues out to the helicopter. It had been an exhausting day, having to disguise myself as one of those criminals and having to ride with them for four hours, sitting near them. A scowl formed on my face as I boarded the helicopter and sat next to Rose.

She turned to me and smiled a bit before opening her mouth, "I just got word that Gaea wants to see you before you go home."

I groaned lowly but nodded nonetheless, if Gaea wanted to see me, I'd go to her. She had helped me so much after the death of my mother and sister and after my father ran off. She had taken me in as if I had been one of her own; no knew what had happened to Gaea's children, and she had helped me grieve. She was a wonderful person and I would do anything for her.

"Okay, thank you for telling me Rose."

The helicopter took off and we were all given a view of Attica. Down below, I saw people going to and fro, walking, going in to stores, having lunch outside on this beautiful day, in cars probably going to work. School had been let out, so there were kids out, walking home, joking around. The streets below were clean, bare of any trash as all the streets of Attica usually were. At this time, a few stores started to close up while others remained open. Quickly, the helicopter made its way to the AECPC and landed on the roof. We made our way out of the helicopter where an elevator waited for us, inside was an Enforcer, Don, he waited for us to board.

"How was it?" Don asked us as soon as the doors closed.

"Eh, a bit boring." Will shrugged his shoulders.

"Easy for you to say, you didn't have to ride in a train with them." I rolled my eyes at him.

Will looked over at me and gave me a smirk, making my cheeks fill with color. "Well, maybe I can help you... unwind later?" He raised a single eyebrow at me.

"Oh god, get a room you two," Jason made a show of covering his eyes.

"Shut up, Jase, leave them be," Reyna playfully shoved him.

"Although it would be nice if they didn't flirt so openly," Annabeth gave me a pointed look but I saw the smile forming on her face.

"First off, I don't flirt with him out in the open it's him, don't pin this on me." I crossed my arms across my chest.

"Yeah okay, because it's only on Will's end that the attraction's there." Thalia smirked my way.

"Thank you Thals, someone's on my side," Will gave me a smile.

"You guys are like little kids, bickering back and forth," Chris snorted.

"Thank god my stop is here, I can't stand to be near you guys any longer. I'll see you later." I said as soon as the doors opened.

"I'm hurt Nico," Jason feigned sounding hurt.

"So, that's confirming that I am going to be seeing later on?" Will asked me, a single brow raised, a playful smirk on his face.

"Shut up Solace," I rolled my eyes as I got off but I couldn't help the small smile that came across my face.

I made my way to Gaea's secretary, Minerva and saw her typing away furiously.

"Hello Minerva," I tapped her desk softly and she looked up at me. Those intense gray eyes; so similar to Annabeth's and I swear if I didn't know better I would have said Minerva was her mother, regarded me.

"Hello Nico, how was the mission?" She asked politely.

I shrugged my shoulders, "it was alright, I am tired though."

"Well, Gaea is waiting for you, you can go in." Minerva went back to her work at hand.

"Thank you," I said as I made my way to Gaea's office.

I went past these double doors, that were made of glass. They slid open once I came near enough and I went through. Gaea had a huge office that overlooked Attica, the view of the community was amazing. In the center, sat a huge wooden desk, made of oak, dark brown. Off to the side was a lounge chair, black and soft to the touch. On the other side was a shelf full of different drinks. Water, juice, snacks even, all there. Even alcohol, well the synthetic alcohol; in Attica and Tribeka, we weren't allowed to drink actual alcohol nor use drugs, they were banned.

I saw Gaea overlooking the community, a drink in her hand. Gaea had helped me after the death of my mother and sister. She had given me a place to stay so I wouldn't be put in a foster home and she had paid my way in college, once out, she had given praise to the people in the AECPC and because of that, I was given the job of an Enforcer instantly, only having to go to training for three months instead of the mandatory six. Gaea was more than a family friend to me, she _was _family.

"Hi Gaea," I say to her, a smile making its way on my face.

She turned to me and gave me a smile of her own, "Nico, my dear, how are you? I bet you're tired, and I won't keep you long, I promise. I just wanted to make sure you were alright."

That made me smile. Gaea was always worried about me. It was endearing, and nice to have someone worry about me, in a motherly way.

"I'm fine, and it's okay. I figured you would want to know how things went on my little job." I strode over to her and sat down on the lounge chair.

"I told you it wouldn't be difficult." Gaea smiled at me as she came over to sit beside me.

"You were right about that, not difficult but pretty exhausting considering I was with them since yesterday." I made a face to which Gaea laughed at.

"Well, did anything interesting happen? Or was it all a big bore?" She sipped more of her drink, a piña colada I guessed from the smell it gave off. And most likely it had no alcohol in it.

I thought back to her question. Did anything interesting happen?

While on board, the only thing that seemed remotely interesting was the fact that that hound, my hound to be specific and I had made eye contact while the train made its way to the facility. It was nothing, but I still remembered the way he looked at me. It was annoying.

"No," I scratched my cheek, "nothing interesting, it was all... pretty boring."

"Well, I'm glad nothing serious happened, now, I'll let you leave. I'm sure you're pretty tired." Gaea brushed some hair away from my face.

"Thank you Gaea, I'll talk to you soon."

I stood up and left her office, I said goodbye to Minerva and rode the elevator all the way down. Once the elevator doors opened, I stepped outside and into the lobby of the AECPC. The floor was black marble and the walls were a light gray color, the doors slide on its own and were metallic. I didn't have anything to do for the day, and there was no work to be done in the office. Annabeth had me do all of my paperwork on time, the girl was very diligent. And so, that left my afternoon free. Well, all the way until around 8:30 when I would be having lunch with Jason, Reyna, and Annabeth. I looked at my wristband; all Enforcers had one, and looked at the time. It read 5:38, I still had a few hours to kill.

I walked out of the building and stepped outside in the fresh air of Attica. It was a nice day out, not too warm but not too cold with a nice and fresh breeze blowing. I started to walk to my apartment which wasn't at all far from here, it was just a block away. My thoughts went back to the sea green eyed killer. After the one month of training, he would soon have to live with me for one year until it would be decided if he could be trusted to live on his own. I would have to actually _live _with someone who had killed his own family. Just my luck.

My apartment came into view but I was still seething with anger. I just couldn't stop myself from hating him. Percy Jackson had had the luxury of no one taking his family away, a family that loved him and he _killed _them all. How could a person do that? I started to get agitated and decided to do a little workout once I was inside my apartment. I ran up the stairs, took my keys out and unlocked the first door before going inside the building. I ran up the stairs, that could be found on the left side once a person walked in, and ran up all the way until I reached the fifth floor. I went down the hallway, turned left and came up to my door. Taking my keys out I quickly unlocked the door and slammed it shut once I was inside.

**"Welcome Nico, would you like anything to eat? Do you wish me to run your bath? Would you like to change your interior decor? There are some new things on the market." **Anna greeted him as soon as he stepped in.

"Anna, shut off." I commanded as I took off my jacket and threw it on the sofa.

**"Are you sure Nico?" **Anna asked me once more.

"Yes, now shut off." I soon saw the panel on the side turn off and knew I was alone.

My apartment was nice, a bit too large for just one person but I liked it. It was up to date on all the new furniture and tech and I was constantly changing it up. The walls were a light blue color, the floor was wood, a dark brown color. The sofas were black leather and there was a coffee table in the center that was glass. The TV was propped up on a shelf and the DVD and cable below it. There was an opening off to the side that led to the kitchen. I decided to go in and get two bottles of water and three granola bars for my workout. The kitchen was open, the stove, oven, dishwasher, and fridge were all stainless steel. The marble countertops were a mix of dark and light brown, the cabinets were black, the walls in the kitchen were white. I opened the fridge and took out my snacks, then I made my way for the dojo room I had Anna build.

I went to my bedroom to quickly change into more comfortable clothes. My bedroom walls were a light gray, the furniture was black, on the floor I had a few rugs. My duvet was dark purple and my bed was King size. I opened my chest and took out a simple white shirt and black sweatpants. After changing, I grabbed my things and made my way to the dojo.

I opened the door to the dojo; unlike everything else, this door didn't automatically slide open by itself. Inside the floor was wooden and light brown, a big black mat covered almost all of it except for the edges. The walls were an off-white color, and propped on the walls were different weapons. A bow and arrow, a few swords; all different styles, there were daggers. Gaea knew about this room, and although this stuff was banned inside Attica, she had made an exception for me. Guns, like how police officers used back then were also banned. I had told Gaea that I just wanted to learn how to fight with a sword, the rest of the weapons were decoration. I had no idea how to use a bow and arrow, nor a dagger, but they seemed like good decorations.

So I learned to fight with a sword and took lessons from a teacher Gaea hired, after that, I practiced sword fighting on my own and made this dojo where I could be alone. I left my food on the side and went over to the wall were the swords were propped. I picked up a sword, third on the row of swords and went over to my dummy in the corner. The sword was a long-sword, the blade was sharp and the handle was bronze with a red gem in the center. I took my stance and exhaled slowly before swinging, hitting the dummy in the chest. I thrust my sword and hit the side.

Percy Jackson. He killed his family. A killer gets to walk free without a sentence.

That hardly seemed fair.

With the back of my sword I hit the dummy in the head before turning the blade in my hand and slashed across the dummy's chest.

I kept hitting and slashing the dummy more and more. My anger that someone who had done something that was beyond terrible and they were given a second chance made me see red. Before I knew it, the dummy was in shreds and I was sweating bullets. I looked at the time on my wristband and saw I only had forty-five minutes to shower and get changed to meet up with Jason, Reyna and Annabeth.

I looked back at the dummy and saw how torn up it was. Did I really just do that? And over a hound especially? I shook my head and put my sword back. I made my way to my bedroom and went to my bathroom.

Twenty five minutes later, I was out and already dressed. I looked at my watch and saw the time was 8:11, I decided to make my way over to the restaurant we were all supposed to meet at. I turned Anna back on and left my apartment, made my way to the elevator and went down. Once the doors opened, I made my way out and walked down the street. The place we were all meeting at was a small and cozy burger joint, not exactly well known.

I walked down the clean streets of Attica. All around me were people, with friends, family, children, lovers, every single one of these people had someone. Someone to call their own.

"Tyler! Watch out Tyler!"

I heard a girl yell and I looked to see this girl about twelve years of age, with mocha skin and light brown hair calling after a boy, younger than her and so similar. I figured they were siblings. The small boy fell down, he was chasing after a squirrel when the girl finally caught up to him. He started to cry out in pain at his scraped knee.

"Tyler, are you okay? Mom! Tyler fell down!" The girl looked back to her brother. "It's okay Tyler, we'll make it feel better."

"Hey Nico," Bianca called to me.

"What Bi?" I asked, slightly annoyed.

"All I'm saying is be careful, okay? This little skateboard trick of yours, you could get badly hurt." Bianca touched my shoulder.

"I'll be fine so stop worrying about me." I shrugged off her hand.

Bianca grabbed my face and made me look her in the eye, "Nico, I'm your big sister, I'm always gonna worry about you."

I shook my head and continued to walk to the burger joint. Someone was probably there already, waiting. I walked past a vendor selling hot dogs and past a girl walking her dog, her friend joking with her. The more I walked, the more I realized, I barely paid attention to the drones that were all around the community. They seemed to have gotten better at blending in. A few minutes later, I found myself in front of the burger joint. I opened the door, walked inside and scanned the place, looking for a familiar face.

The burger joint was small. The tiles were black and white, the tables were wood and they ranged from booths to two seaters to a four person seating. Overhead, there were beams and off to the side was a music machine. I soon saw a blonde head of hair and walked over to the booth the blonde had picked out.

"Hey Annabeth," I said as soon as I got close to her.

She looked up at me, "hey, sit down. Reyna's already here, she just went to the bathroom." Annabeth went back to reading her book.

"Art Of War?" I said, taking a look at the cover.

"Yes, I read it once before, a long time ago, now I'm just rereading it for fun." Annabeth smirked up at me.

"Heavy reading." I muttered as I tapped my fingers on the table.

Soon enough, Reyna appeared. I saw her make her way from the bathroom to our table.

"Hey Nico, how was your talk with Gaea?" Reyna asked me as soon as she sat down next to Annabeth.

"It was fine, she just wanted to see how I was and all that."

"Mm, well we're just waiting on Jason, I don't know why he's taking forever." Reyna tapped her fingers on the table as she looked to the door of the restaurant.

Ten minutes later, Jason came in and sat down beside me.

"Nice of you to join us, not like we're hungry or anything." Reyna teased Jason as soon as he got to our table.

"Sorry guys," Jason rubbed the back of his neck.

"I was half tempted to just order without you Jase," I elbowed him in the side.

"Dude, sorry I just got held up, I got word from the higher ups that my hound, Leo," we nodded our heads as Jason explained his delay. "Well, he's good in technology and mechanics, I mean I took a look at his results of the tests Anna ran and it's like the guys some sort of genius of something. Anyway, he's gonna be working with me and Calypso from time to time."

"So, he's gonna have two partners?" Annabeth asked Jason.

"No, well, I'm his official partner but whenever Calypso's in a jam, Leo's gonna help out." Jason took a look at the menu.

"That's weird..." Annabeth said as she signaled a waiter over.

"Yeah but what can you do," Jason shrugged his shoulders.

Soon enough, we all gave our orders to the waiter and we were left alone. We kept talking about mundane things. Annabeth was busy going over all the books she had read in the past and finding new ones to read, she was also studying a bit of architecture at the local college and was taking a course. Reyna was busy arranging her place. It was one month until the hounds came back but she said she needed to take care of a few things. Jason said he had joined a football team of guys who had played it back in high school and college. I didn't really share much, since nothing interesting was going on in my life.

"I beg to differ," Reyna smirked at me.

"What do you mean?" I looked at her in confusion.

"What's that little thing you have going on with Will?" Jason turned to looK at me, a single eyebrow raised in question.

I looked at all three occupants at the table and let out a small chuckle. "Oh that, that's nothing."

"Sure didn't seem like nothing when we were in the elevator..." Annabeth tried to sound casual.

"Well, it was nothing." I sipped some of my soda.

"Okay sure Neeks, if you say so." Jason laughed.

"Don't call me Neeks, and yeah, I do say so. Besides, it's nothing more than a friend with benefits thing..." I muttered.

"What?" Reyna asked me.

"Yeah, it's not serious, there's no feelings involved just... you know, sex. We flirt, him publicly, me a bit more privately, and that's it. Nothing more." I shrugged my shoulders.

"So you're admitting to have sex with him?" Annabeth asked me.

"Yeah, just sex. No feelings."

Before they could ask anything else, the waiter returned with our food. But as soon as he left everyone turned to me.

"And, how is he?" Reyna asked me.

"How is he in what?" I smirked her way.

"Can we not talk about this while we eat?" Jason pulled a face.

"Oh come in Jase, live a little, experiment why don't you you straight A goody goody," Reyna teased him.

"Experiment?" Jason looked at her.

"Yeah, have sex with a guy just once and brag about you living life dangerously." Reyna merely smiled at him.

"You're crazy." Jason looked at her incredulously.

"No I'm not, besides you can't tell me you've never been curious, am I right?" Reyna looked at Jason.

"Um-"

"Just answer the question," Annabeth interrupted, "was Solace good in bed or not?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" I chuckled at Annabeth.

"Yes we would, which is why we're asking you." Reyna threw me a french fry.

"That's not how you're gonna get your answer," I say as I take a bit out of my burger.

"And I'll keep throwing more until you do."

"Oh come on Nico, is he?" Annabeth asked once more.

"Why do you wanna know?" I look at Annabeth.

"Because, one time, a long time ago I was about to have sex with him. Back when we were fresh out of training. We were all having a party to celebrate and me and Will... well, things got sort of... hot and all that. We didn't end up having sex though. I didn't want to in the end, but it looked like he knew his stuff." Annabeth shrugged her shoulders as she took a sip of her drink.

"Okay, sounds reasonable enough of why you're so curious."

"Dude, please don't say it," Jason grabbed my shoulder.

"I think Reyna's right Jase, maybe you do need to live a little." I smirk his way. "Yeah... oh yeah, he is... he knows his stuff."

"Nice," Reyna laughed as Annabeth giggled. "What else?"

"Oh god, I think I'm gonna-"

"Listen in full detail?" Reyna interrupted Jason.

"Sorry but I don't kiss and tell." I leaned back in my seat.

"Thank god." Jason exhaled heavily.

"Oh well, at least we got something," Annabeth shrugged her shoulders.

"Nico, you white knight." Reyna shook her head.

* * *

><p>"Happy Birthday to you!"<p>

I looked around at my family, smiling at me as they sang Happy Birthday.

"Go on sweetie, make a wish," my mother told me.

Maria di Angelo. My mother was so beautiful. With her brunette, wavy straight hair that curled at the ends. Her light brown eyes that reminded me of coffee. Her thin lips that curved beautifully when she smiled. My mother was slim, with a curvy frame. She had fair skin, a blush would adorn her cheeks whenever she was kissed by her love.

"I don't think I have anything to wish for..." I looked up at my family.

"I'm sure there's something you want son?" My father asked me.

I looked so much like my father. I had his black hair, but they curled at the ends, like my mother's, and his pale skin although I had a bit of an olive tinge. His dark brown eyes that seemed endless.

"I don't know dad, what should I wish for?" I asked him.

"Well hurry it up, before the wax of the candles start melting off and start to land on the cake!" My sister said with a small giggle.

My sister Bianca looked like both my father and mother. She had my father's eyes and hair and skin, but freckles dusted across her face.

I nodded my head once and looked back down at my cake.

_Happy Birthday Nico!_ was written in icing, ten candles were lit. The cake was covered in chocolate frosting. On the sides, crushed Oreo crumbs were on it.

_I wish to have my family with me always._

I blew out the candle and looked back at my family. They clapped once more before my mom came over to cut my cake.

"Tomorrow, we're going to go to Disney World," my dad announced, and me and my sister looked at him in disbelief. "I got approved by Gaea to leave Attica and go to Disney World. Your things are already packed kids." My dad smiled at us.

"No way! Dad!" Bianca hugged our dad and I went over, running to hug him too.

"Let's eat some cake guys!"

...

"Come on, open it. I bet you're gonna like it." Bianca told me in a sing song voice.

I quickly unwrapped my present to find a set of cards and figurines. Not just any set of cards and figurines either, they were Mythomagic cards and figurines.

"No way! No way! Bianca!" I look up at her and see her smiling at me.

"Yep, I got you that, figured it was your new and fastest obsession."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" I say to her as I give her a hug.

"You're welcome." Bianca laughs. "Maybe you can teach me how to play this dorky game of yours."

"Its not dorky."

"Oh come on, I'm only kidding," Bianca smiles softly at me.

"Thanks Bi," I look up at her.

"No problem, happy birthday Nico."

"Nico. Nico. Nico!" I feel someone shaking my shoulder.

"What?!" I shake my head and look at the person calling my name.

"Dude, we're leaving, the arcade's closing." Jason said, looking at me in concern. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." I cough slightly and look away from his scrutinizing gaze.

"Okay..." Jason said slowly, "well, we gotta go."

"Right."

Jason, me, Reyna and Annabeth all leave the place; I didn't remember ever entering the arcade place since the burger joint.

"I can't believe you actually got something out that thing," Reyna snorted as Annabeth shoved a stuffed animal in her face.

"Its all about being the crane Reyna," Annabeth teased as Reyna rolled her eyes.

"Unbelievable."

I had no idea what brought on the sudden thought of my tenth birthday... but I was at a loss. Before I knew it, we had reached my apartment. Reyna and Annabeth had already reached their homes and now it was only me and Jason.

"You alright there Nico?" Jason asked me.

"Yeah I'm fine, just..." I let out a breath, "tired is all. I'm gonna go to sleep. Night man."

"Yeah, night." Jason kept on walking as I entered the building.

Once inside, I boarded the elevator and pushed the button for the fifth floor. I really was exhausted, I couldn't wait till I got to bed. Once I reached my floor, I walked towards my door and took out my keys.

"Hey neighbor," a familiar voice called out to me.

I turn around to see none other than Will Solace, smirking at me.

"Solace," I nod my head towards him and he gives me a wink.

"So, I thought I was gonna see you just not this late... but better late than never, right?"

I rolled my eyes at him. Will, who was leaning against his door frame strode over to me.

"So," the blond put his hands on my hips, "I've got a problem and you're the only one who can help me."

Those blue eyes looked at me, a sort of pleading look in them.

"Let me guess, you're horny?" I drawled out.

"Bingo."

"Wow."

"Oh come on, in one month we won't have the luxury of doing this so freely when the hounds are back, let's take advantage, yes?" Will smiled at me in a charming way.

I felt my resolve crumble and before I knew it, I was leading him inside. I felt him snake his arms around my waist and as he kissed up my neck before reaching my lips.


	3. Chapter 3 Numbing Memories

_Hello everyone, thank you all so much for the kind reviews! I really do appreciate every single one of you! Here is the next chapter to Resistance!_

_*Forgot to mention*_

**_Drones_**

_Are undercover machines that walk the streets of Attica and Tribeka and scan at random, different people. They scan so that they could know if a citizen is stable or not and so that they can check a person's psycho hue. They also administer treatment and send word to the AECPC if their readings of a person borderline danger._

**_Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson and The Olympians_**

* * *

><p><em>Numbing Memories<em>

Unbelievable.

I fell in love at first sight with someone who looked at me in disgust?

He didn't even know me. He didn't know what happened. The truth behind my family's murder. He didn't know anything and yet here he was, judging me. I couldn't believe I had actually fallen for someone like him. Well that was well over now. Nico di Angelo huh? I hated him. I hated the fact that he looked at me with such anger and hate. I hated the fact that he assumed I killed my own family. I hated the fact that I had been captured.

I thought things couldn't get worse... boy was I wrong.

We boarded the train and it took off down a secret path. It went underground and soon we were in a tunnel. I had no idea what was going to happen to us. They had explained that we were going to be training to be hounds but how? And where? Where would we be going?

"Hey."

I looked up to see Piper looking down at me, sadness evident in her eyes. No, not sadness, pity. Piper felt pity for me and I felt pathetic.

"Hey." I looked away from her and looked down at the ground.

I felt her sit down next to me, "look, I'm sorry about Nico... you're little crush. I kinda knew that Enforcers did that, they dress up as criminals in disguise and board the train where we're transported to the correctional facility in case of anything... but I had no idea he would be one of them."

"It's fine," I tell her and I try to sound strong but it comes out a bit weaker than I had hoped.

"Yeah, I hope so." Piper mutters and I look out the window of the train.

It's still dark with lights here and there and the walls of the tunnel are cement. Soon enough, we all hear a bell go off and we look up to see a man stand in front of us. He was bald and very well built. He had dark brown eyes that from far away looked black. He was also really tall, he was someone no one wanted to mess with.

"Listen here scum, it'll be thirty minutes before we reach the palace, once there, I want you all to line up in two straight lines and go out through this door," the mad pointed to his right, "you leave through that door in an orderly way and then I won't see you again until the end of the month. Now, sit tight trash, and get ready because soon enough you'll become the dogs of Attica."

"Well then, isn't he a bucket of sunshine?"

I turn around to see Leo Valdez, the small and energetic imp that sold tech on the black market. He's got that devious smirk on his face.

"Good to see ya, Perce." Leo smiles at me but there's something hidden in that smile, I just can't place my finger on it.

"Good to see you too Leo," I nod my head at Leo.

"It's been a long time, when was the last time I saw you..." Leo tapped his index finger to his lips, "oh right it was three years ago when you were fleeing the Enforcers because you killed your family and I helped you escape." Leo fixed me with a serious look, his smile no longer on his face, his lips pressed in a thin line.

Piper looked my way and her eyes widened.

"I may be a criminal, but I'm definitely not a killer." Leo sneered. "And I can't believe I actually helped you escape, me and Adam both did!"

"Percy... you-" Piper started but never got to finish.

"Look," I turned around fully to face Leo, "I did not _kill _my family. You can believe me or you can not, and frankly I don't care if you do because I'm telling the truth. Now shut the hell up and I better not hear you mention my family ever again." I fixed him a glared, my eyes narrowing. Leo saw them turning from a warm sea green to a dark blue, like the sea in storm.

"Or what? You gonna kill me?" Leo taunted.

"Leo, enough." Piper snapped at him.

"He killed his family Pipes! And _I _helped him escape!" Leo said a little too loudly. It caught the attention of everyone on board.

"I already told you that I didn't kill my family now shut the fuck up before I make you."

"Okay, let's all calm down." Piper tried to intervene.

"Honestly, I don't know why I bother explaining myself to you, you don't believe me and you're not going to... no one ever does." I gave Piper a sardonic smile.

"As if we'd believe you, for all we know you could be lying." Leo crossed his arms and turned up his nose.

"For all we know, he could be telling the truth." Adam suddenly got in the conversation.

Leo looked over at Adam and his eyes bulged out of his head, "you're joking right? You've gotta be."

"We weren't there to see what happened but uh, Percy looks like too much of a sissy to do something like that so, what can I say? I believe him." Adam shrugged his shoulders as he sat back in his seat.

"I'm not a _sissy _and I didn't kill my family." I rolled my eyes, ready to snap at any moment.

"Well if you didn't who did? Besides, Anna's got proof." Leo rebuffed my claim of being innocent.

"Someone else did." I inhaled deeply, trying to reign in my anger.

"Oh yeah, who?" Leo asked, in a snarky attitude.

"I don't know who! I just know one day I came home from school and-" my voice faltered, "and I s-saw my little brother... he-" I turned away. "And my mom and dad... they were- and all of a sudden Anna was accusing me of killing them and- then there was this voice and he said he killed them and framed me... he- I never saw his face." My hands were clenched into fists. "And he- he..."

"He what Percy?" Piper asked me gently.

"He killed..." I looked up at Piper and saw concern in her eyes.

"Who did he kill?" She asked, urging me to continue.

"Please," Leo scoffed. "this guy is making this up."

"Shut up Leo." Piper shushed Leo and turned back to me. "Who else did he kill Percy?"

"...Danny..."

Piper looked at Leo, a confused look on her face. "W-who's Danny?"

...

"Miss?" I called after a girl, she had pink hair, like bubblegum and blue eyes, like the sky.

"Yes?" She turned around and looked at me, a small smile on her face. Her lips were painted red, her cheeks were rosy, she was gorgeous.

"Uh, you uh, you left your bag in the diner..." I said, cursing my stuttering as I gave her back her purse.

"Oh," she looked down at her purse in my hand, "thank you so much." She looked back up at me and smiled wider. "My name's Daniela." Daniela stuck out her hand.

"Uh, I'm James." I shook her offered hand and smiled shyly at her.

"Nice to meet you James," she laughed softly.

"Nice to meet you too."

Suddenly it started to rain heavily and she looked out at the streets, her face slowly dropped the smile she had not even two seconds ago.

"It's raining... really hard." Daniela stated. "And I left my umbrella at home."

"Uh, well, I have mine..." I spoke and broke her out of her thoughts. She turned to look at me and then down at my hand where I had a big umbrella. "You can have it if you want?" I said, offering it to her.

She looked at the umbrella for a second and then at me before that huge smile came back and I noticed she had a gap between her front teeth and I realized it made her look adorable.

"We can share it." She declared and she took my umbrella and my hand and dragged me out into the rain. She opened up my umbrella and took me under it. "See, big enough for the both of us." She smiled at me again and I couldn't help but return it.

"Yeah, big enough for the both of us." I felt rise up to my cheeks as I smiled at her.

"Would you... care to join me for a cup of coffee?"

I looked down at my feet before I heard her small giggle. I looked back up and those doe-like blue eyes looked at me, in a hopeful sort of way.

"I would love to join you for coffee."

"Excellent."

...

"Percy?" I felt Piper touch my shoulder softly and I shook my head, the memory of when I had first met Danny, already fading to the back of my mind.

"Hey, are you okay?"

"Y-yeah..." my eyes were watery and I willed my tears away, I had already cried enough when I lost Danny.

"Who is Danny?" Piper asked me again.

"Pipes he's just making things up now," Leo huffed in annoyance.

"And how do you know that?" Piper snapped at Leo.

"Besides, the guy doesn't look like he's lying." Adam spoke up, "he looks pretty shaken up and that counts for something." He fixed Leo with a look. "Lets not judge a book by its cover."

"But we don't actually know if he did kill his family or not, for all we know he could be a psychopath..." Luke got in the conversation.

"Yet, we also don't know if he actually is telling the truth and here we are doubting him." Apollo gave his opinion and I shot him a small smile.

"Still-" Leo began only to be cut off by Amber.

"Whatever. We are no one to judge him 'cause we're no better." Amber stood up in front of everyone. "So, let's stop putting the blame on a guy who could be innocent because we don't know what went on, and he could be telling the truth and if he keeps on with the same story then we'll know he is being truthful and he was nothing but a victim." Amber turned to me then with a small, sad smile on her face, "and I'm sorry we are all judging you."

"No, it's okay, like you all have said, you guys don't know what happened, but believe me when I say that I didn't kill my family... I loved them with my whole heart, I would never do anything to hurt them." I looked at each one person on the train and hoped that they could believe me.

"We jumped to conclusions," Piper started, glaring at Leo, "and sorry that we did. Amber's right, we don't have the right to judge Percy when we're no better. We are all criminals aboard here, so let's stop fighting and bickering amongst each other."

"Whatever," Leo looked away, but he had a sad look on his face.

After that, the whole train was quiet, every single one of us thinking about something different. The silence didn't last very long though, because the bald man came back and stood before us.

"Alright dogs, we'll be approaching the palace, get ready maggots."

We all sat down and waited for The train to come to a stop. Suddenly, there was light pouring in through the Windows, not such a bright light that harmed your eyes but more like the light of a setting sun. We were soon out of the long tunnel and out in the open. I looked through the window and saw the sun setting, stars were already out and twinkling. I saw a big field that had acres of trees. On the other side there was a lake, and then I saw a building. It was distant but it was soon getting closer. I could make it out to be a palace, well the place we would be trained in. It didn't look like a castle, not exactly but the place was huge. The outside of the building was a dark red, the roof was slanted and it was made of red-brown tiles. The train soon rounded and came to a smooth stop in front of the palace. We lined up as the bald man had told us to and we made our way outside, in two lines.

Outside, the walkway was gravel, brown and white stones were placed on the sides of the walkway. The grass surrounded the whole place. Off to the side there were a few trees that had fruit on them, I saw apples so ruby red and juicy, I wanted to walk up to the tree and pluck one just to have a bite. The front doors of the place were dark brown oak, and they were huge. There were windows that were made of stained glass on the first floor while the rest from the second level and up were normal windows. As we got closer, I saw a man standing there in the center. He was wearing blank pants and a white, long-sleeved shirt. His hair was gray and slicked back in his head, he had a beard and light brown eyes. He looked to be in his 60s, and he probably was.

In merely a few seconds, we were standing in front of him and the bald guy that had been on the train; never found out his name had left.

"Welcome," the old man said, "my name is Jeremy and as you all have heard, you will be staying in my home for one month to train to become hounds. You will learn how to think like a hound, track like a hound, and act and fight like a hound. I hope you all get through this, it'll be a long month. I'm going to drill all of this in your head. Now then, dinner is inside, and after dinner you will be shown to your rooms where you'll sleep in groups of five in three separate rooms. You get one hour before lights out. Follow me."

Jeremy turned around and made his way to the doors, where they opened up. Once we flooded inside, I say that the living room was the first room we encountered. The floors were marble, a beige color and the couches were a light brown. The center had a round, dark brown coffee table and above, hanging down from the ceiling was a chandelier. Off to the side, there was a staircase that led up to the rooms probably. We moved past the living room and made our way into a dinning room. The table was in the center, and it was long and spacious, made of dark brown wood.

"Here's where you will be eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Sit down, after dinner, I'll be giving you all a tour of the place. I have staff that cater to my needs which means that they will cater to your needs as well but you're going to be expected to wash your own clothes, fold them and put them away." Jeremy explained to us as we all sat down and soon enough, his staff made their way to the table, putting platters of food in front of us.

The food that was placed looked so delicious. There was corn on the cob, mashed potatoes, baked potatoes, grilled chicken, juicy steak, green beans, carrots sliced up in cubes, white rice, black beans, breadsticks. And all of this made my mouth water. Soon, plates and cutlery were placed in front of us and then, glasses. Pitchers of juice and water were placed all around us in the center of the table. I looked around and saw the expressions on everyone's faces. Piper had wide eyes, she licked her lips subconsciously as she kept on looking at the food. Leo was rubbing his hands together, as if he were up to evil except that he was eying the food placed in front of us with a ravenous look than with an evil eye. Luke had a disbelieving look on his face, same as Amber and Adam had a smirk on his face as he looked over everything. Apollo had a huge smile on his face, Clarisse, for once wasn't scowling and instead looked at the food suspiciously, and Silena had the look of pure joy. The rest of the hounds also had shocked expressions that soon turned to happiness.

"Is this all... for real?" Adam was the first to speak up.

"Yes, you're expected to eat and to keep a healthy body, nothing like a good home cooked meal? It's best that all of you are well-fed. Just because you are all criminals and because you will soon become dogs doesn't mean a thing, it doesn't mean you will be treated badly in home nor starve. That'd be inhumane." Jeremy told us and for a second, I though I saw his eyes softening. "Now, eat up, we still have that tour not to mention you need to sleep because tomorrow we'll be up early to have breakfast and have your first day of training."

Very slowly, we started to take food from the platters placed in front us until our hunger won out and we started to pile it on our plates. I poured juice in glass and and piled my plate with rice, chicken, beans, and a steak. Off to the side, I saw onions and started to put it on top of my steak, there were juices in the bowl of onions and I poured a generous amount. The food tasted amazing and I took a sip out of my juice. It was mango, tasty and sweet, so utterly mouthwatering that I drank it all in a minute. I poured myself some and continued to eat. I didn't realize how starved I was until I had actual food in my mouth.

About an hour later, everyone had finished eating, stuff full and sitting in the chairs at the dining table with satisfied smiles on their faces. Jeremy looked at each of us, a twinkle in his eye and I couldn't help but sort of trust the old geezer. He didn't seem mean, like the Enforcers, but he also didn't seem like the guy you would wanna mess with.

"Now, time for a tour of the place. You saw the living and the dinning room, now let's move to the kitchen." He stood up and everyone followed suit as he made his way to the kitchen.

The kitchen was huge, there were three stoves, three ovens, four dishwashers, three sinks, five microwaves, two fridges and a bunch of cabinets. The counters were big and they lined up against the wall. In the middle there was this huge island, almost resembling a huge kitchen table. The counters were black marble and the cabinets were dark wood, everything else was stainless steel. The kitchen was absolutely gigantic and it all made sense because you would need a big kitchen to cook big meals for loads of people, so there was a reason as to why this kitchen was so big.

"Yes, I know, the kitchen is huge, but it's for the best." Jeremy shrugged his shoulders. "Let's go upstairs so that you may see your bedrooms. Now, I trust the lot of you, when paired to sleep in the same room with someone of a different gender of yours, you will all react in a mature way, no?" Jeremy asked us this question and looked at us with a serious expression.

"Yes sir, we'll act in a mature way." Apollo spoke up and looked at each of us. No one said anything and we went up the stairs to the second floor.

"The second floor is the bedrooms, for all of us." Jeremy told us as we made our way through the floor. We passed by the first door. "This is my room." Jeremy said and then we passed by a second door. He opened it to reveal a huge room.

The inside had five beds, all twin beds. One was near the window, the other against a wall, one was vertical and next to the one near the window, another one was near the door to the room and the last one along the other side of the wall. Next to them, were bedside tables and there were five dressers, so that we could put our clothes in. The room was bare but otherwise nice. It had only the necessities it seemed.

"In here, Percy Jackson, Piper McLean, Luke Castellan, Leo Valdez and Amber Lockser." Jeremy told us, he then closed the door and turned to look at us. "You'll be able to come back here later, let's move on to the next room."

The next room was a ways down the hall and it was just as big as the first room. With five bedrooms, five dressers and it was bare, just like the first one.

"In here it will be Silena Beauregard, Clarisse La Rue, Apollo Solace, Adam Fernandez, and John Mitchell are going to be roomed here." Jeremy announced and then closed the door before moving down the hall. At another room, it was the same deal. "And finally in here, Joanna Mellano, Melissa Gilbert, Mason Hastings, Noah Montgomery and Beth Copeland. Now, let's move to the next floor of the house."

We walked forward and came across another set of staircase at the end of the hall. Everyone climbed the stairs and we came upon the third floor.

"On this floor, we will train how to fight, and do exercises. We will train how to disarm a person whether they have a knife or a gun, any dangerous weapon. We have punching bags and different weapons to fight with, you'll learn everything you need to learn."

Jeremy opened these double doors and slowly they revealed a huge room. The room had hardwood floors and in the center there was a big, black mat that took up half of the space in the room. Off to the side there were a few punching bags and on the other side of the room there were weapons. Knives, swords, guns; I didn't know if they were even allowed in Attica but Jeremy had them on display and many more weapons. The walls were white and bare of anything. On one whole side of the room were mirrors, huge mirrors reaching from the the ceiling all the way down to the floor instead of a wall.

"Whoa..." Leo whispered and then the doors closed.

"Now, the fourth floor is reserved for my staff, the ones who live inside my home and that floor is off limits. We're going back to your rooms, tomorrow your clothes will arrive and I expect you all to be awake by eight a.m sharp, and to be down for breakfast. Tomorrow, I'll be giving you all a tour of the outside." We were led back to the second floor. "Goodnight, let's hope you all have a good night's sleep, you'll need it for tomorrow." Jeremy chuckled to himself as we each went to our respective rooms.

As I laid down in my bed, I couldn't help but think that Jeremy was a kind soul and I wondered why he was stuck with this job. This job of training criminals to act like the dogs of society... I rolled over to my side. The room was dark now, quiet and I was left with my thoughts... something I didn't want because they always drifted back to my past.

_"Address 215 Palisade Avenue, next to this deli, Gio's Deli... there's a boy named Leo Valdez. He can help you..."_

I ran through the sewers, losing track of where I was even going. I was taking turns left and right trying to outrun the hounds and Enforcers and it seemed to have worked. I didn't hear anything for at least thirty minute. I took a right turn, I had no idea where I was going or if I was even going in the right direction I just knew I had to get away. I took a left turn and suddenly came upon a way outside. Should I take this chance and go up? What if they were waiting for me? I decided to chance it and started climbing the ladder up to the manhole that was above ground. With difficulty I pushed the manhole and slid it out so that I could be out in the open. I poked my head out and looked around me. I didn't see any signs of Enforcers nor hounds and slowly got out of the sewer system. I made my way into an unfamiliar part of Attica.

All around me, the buildings were old and trashed, crumbling, they looked to be under construction. I didn't hear any cars and I looked down a street; it was bare with no cars or people. There were train tracks in the road but I saw no trains passing through. It actually looked like a ghost town. I had no idea where I was and I was suddenly feeling afraid. My heart started to beat rapidly, everything that had happened washing over me. My family was dead. I was to blame. I was on the run. I was a wanted person. What was I going to do? How was I going to reach this Leo person? I had no idea what I was even doing and I was scared out of my wits.

I walked over to an empty building and holed up inside until it grew dark. I was cold, I was hungry, I was angry, sad and miserable. What was I going to do? I raked my hands through my hair for about the millionth time when I heard a noise outside of the building. My head snapped up at the sound and I looked straight ahead, my ears straining to pick up any noise, my eyes were wide, frantically searching around the empty and dark building for any shadows. My heart was thumping against my chest, and my breathing was uneven. Had they found me already? So soon? Was it really that easy to find me? I heard shuffling of feet and back up against the wall I was sitting against.

"Percy?" I heard someone call my name and I looked for the source of the voice. "It's Marisol, are you here?"

My body moved along the walls and the shuffling sounded closer.

"I'm alone." Marisol spoke once more.

"I'm here," I answered her and fully came into view. "How'd you get here?"

"I took a cab as far as I could and then walked the rest of the way," Marisol said, coming in to view as well and looked me over. "You have a tracker on you, although it's hard to get a signal what with you being in this place but I'll bet that they're close to cracking the signal jam. Lets take it off you." She motioned for me to come close to her.

I hesitated for a second before giving in and doing what she told me to do. She took my hand and went up my sleeve where she took out a small little chip that I didn't know I had on me before throwing it on the floor and squashing it under her foot.

"Good, now that's taken care of. Now, I'm sure you're hungry..." once Marisol mentioned food, my stomach rumbled and my cheeks tinted pink.

"Uh, yeah... I am hungry," I sheepishly admitted.

"I brought food." Marisol said with a small smile as she took out from her bag three sandwiches, strawberries, and bottle of apple juice. She handed me everything and sat down Indian style on the dirty floor of the building.

I looked at the food and began to eat, I was so hungry I ate the first sandwich in under a minute. "Thank you, so much... for everything..." I said as I unwrapped the next sandwich and took a bite.

"You're welcome," Marisol chuckled softly as she watched me eat.

Ten minutes later, I ate the last of the strawberries and took a swig out of the apple juice. We were sitting cross legged in front of each other, Marisol and I.

"I don't... even know how I can thank you... you've done so much for me, a complete stranger who almost everyone believes that I've killed my family..." I looked down at my lap and felt tears prickle at the corners of my eyes.

The image of my family brutally killed forever seared into my mind. I was alone in this world and no one would ever know that I was innocent... ever.

"Its okay, for some crazy I believe you." Marisol whispered, breaking me away from my thoughts.

"I didn't kill them, someone else did, I just... I don't know who or... even w-why? Why would they do this? I don't think we've ever done anything to... well whoever it was..." my brows furrowed and I clenched my fists.

"Do you know anything about the person? If it's a man or a woman?" Marisol asked me.

"It was a man, he spoke to me when Anna had locked me in the house. Suddenly, Anna h-had malfunctioned and she shut down... I don't know how or that that was even possible. He said I was being an idiot if I chose to stay and wait for you guys to get there... he said he had killed them and that I couldn't prove my innocence because... he framed me. H-how am I supposed to prove I'm innocent when all I know of the person who killed my family is how he sounds like?" I looked at Marisol as tears ran down my face.

I heard Marisol swallow before she shook her head, "I don't know, and I'm so sorry this happened... but for now, we're getting out of here, while it's still dark out and I am getting you to Leo's so that you could get away, start a new life."

I looked over at Marisol and smiled at her, "thank you, so much, for everything you're doing. You're risking your neck for me, total stranger. Why?"

"I believe in doing what's right and something about you... it just, it feels right, I somehow believe you didn't kill your family and my guts gotta count for something, right?" Marisol shrugged her shoulders.

"Hmph," I snorted softly, a small smile touching my lips, "still, thanks a lot."

I rolled onto my back and looked up at the ceiling to this place we were all staying at. I heard a bed creak but ignored it, thinking someone was only turning around to sleep better. Until I heard a small psst to my right. I looked over and saw Piper leaning up against her left elbow, she looked over at me with a concerned look.

"Hey, is everything okay?" She whispered to me.

"Yeah," I whispered back, "just- having trouble sleeping is all..."

Piper looked like she didn't fully believe me but she nodded her head and went back to sleep. I went back to staring at the ceiling and tried to count sheep, hoping I could fall asleep. Finally, somewhere around two in the morning I fell asleep.

I heard footsteps going back and forth, walking across the floor and I cracked an eye open to see what was going on? I saw a blond head of curly hair going around the room, leaning over a bed before waking the person up. Then he came to my bed, Apollo and he shook my leg, trying to wake me up. I groaned out loud and I heard laughter come from him.

"Time to get up sunshine, the sun's awake, the birds are singing, it's a beautiful day and let's not waste it sleeping." Apollo chuckled as he went over to Luke's bed and trusted him awake.

"I will kill you, I swear to it," the other blond muttered as he got up and rubbed his eyes.

"I don't fear death," Apollo stuck out his tongue at Luke.

I begrudgingly got up as well, staying up didn't do me any good, I was dead tired and wanted nothing more than to sleep. Suddenly, there was a knock against the door and we heard Jeremy's voice through the door.

"Girls and boys, come on out and let's get to the bathrooms where you will shower."

We all got up then and Apollo opened the door, letting us all go through. Everyone else in the other rooms were standing outside in the hall.

"Now then, you will have clothes, a towel, soap, shampoo, a tooth brush and tooth paste waiting for you once you get to the showers. There's enough for every one so there won't be a need to fight." Jeremy spoke as he led us down the stairs before reaching the first floor and turning a right going the opposite direction than where the living room was. "Every time you need anything replaced you will come and tell me, I'll replace it for you. The rest of your clothes should arrive some time after lunch. Now, one side is for the woman and the other for the men." Jeremy pointed to the bathrooms. "Your stuff are in there, please, be quick so that you are on time for breakfast."

Jeremy left then, and we all filed in to the designated bathrooms for us. Once in there, we saw toilet stalls on one side, a whole bunch of them. On the other side, were shower stalls and in the center were the sinks. Off to the side were two large, full body mirrors. By each shower stall on a stool there were the necessities which belonged to us. Each of us walked in a line until we reached the shower stall. No one was left with nothing, every single one of us got what we needed.

"Well, let's get this show on a roll," Apollo clapped his hands together as he started to strip of his clothes.

"Whoa dude, what are you doing?" Leo started to ask, panicking slightly.

"Um, I'm taking my clothes off..." Apollo raised a single eyebrow.

"Yeah, but... you're in a room full of dudes... I mean, aren't you- I don't know embarrassed? Or something?" Leo looked away from Apollo as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Dude, I'm confident in my sexuality besides, it's just taking off my clothes so that I could shower, and we all got the same junk, so no biggie." Apollo shrugged his shoulders as he took off his shirt, revealing a very toned chest.

"Ah jeez," Leo dragged a hand down his face as he shook his head.

Soon, Apollo's pants came off and up next were his boxers. At that point I decided to look away and undress myself so that I could shower quickly and grab a bite to eat.

Twenty minutes later, some of the boys were already done changing and brushing their teeth while others got dressed. I was already done and I took my things with me, going upstairs to the room I was staying in and putting my things away in the dresser that belonged to me. I came jogging down the stairs and went to the dinning room. I saw Piper sitting there already talking to Adam and Silena, with Clarisse speaking every now and then. Apollo and Luke were talking together, and Leo was making Amber laugh, telling her jokes. I decided to sit next to Piper and tried to make myself invisible. What happened yesterday on the train coming back to memory. I really did not want to talk about anything with anyone but as soon as I sat down, Piper turned to look at me. I didn't even know her that well and yet I found I could read her expression so clearly; she wasn't going to let what happened yesterday go.

"Hey Percy," Piper smiled at me as she greeted me.

"Hey Piper, what's up?" I asked her as I slid in my seat.

"Not much, just talking with Adam... you know," Piper started to say, trying to be careful around whatever subject she was going to bring up, "he told me that you came to Leo about three years ago and that Adam had faked documents for you..."

I swallowed the lump in my throat and forced myself to speak, "yeah, h-he did forge documents for me..."

"He said that you told them someone sent you to them... someone named Marisol?" Piper looked me in the eye and I looked away. I didn't know why but this conversation was making me nervous, probably because I was uncomfortable.

"Uh, yeah..." I said slowly.

"And yesterday, when we were walking out to the train that took us here, being led by this Enforcer... you had asked her about Marisol right? Because Marisol was an Enforcer herself right?" Piper kept on with her questions.

"Uh, yeah... Piper-where are you going with this?" I finally looked at her.

"Oh, nowhere I was- just curious... is all..." Piper looked away then and fingered the table cloth. "Anyway, I just wanted to apologize on Leo's behalf... since he's too stubborn to do it... he- we shouldn't have jumped to conclusions and pinned the murder if your family on you... it was wrong of us. I'm sorry, really, really sorry."

"Its okay," I said softly, giving Piper a half-smile. "You guys didn't know and well... I didn't really help my case by running from the Enforcers..."

"Still, it was wrong to do that especially since we're no better..."

"Don't sweat it," I put my hand on Piper's shoulder and gave her a smile to show I didn't mind, she had apologized and that was fine by me. More than fine, it meant that she believed I was innocent and that was a relieving feeling.

...

"Okay, Leo's place of business is right around the corner. I'm not going in because I'm sure the other Enforcers will get suspicious of my absence. Just tell them Marisol sent you, Adam knows and Leo only knows of me, he hasn't seen me but just tell them that they need to help you. It'll cost you though." Marisol explained things to me. "Now, here's what you're going to ask for, a wristband that can hide your psycho stat from the drones on the streets and make it seem normal and to be waterproof. Now, your instructions are to never take off this bracelet, ever. Then, you're going to ask Leo to create fake prints for your fingers and fake your ears so that the cameras won't catch on to you."

"F-fake my ears?" I look at Marisol, confusion very well shown on my face.

"Yes Percy, the ears of a person are like finger prints, we need to fake them. Now, with Adam ask him to give you a new birth certificate, New social security card, a new history, basically a new life. From where you went to school to where you used to live. Adam could sneakily put you back into the system just for you to get a job and such. Remember that once you do have a new life set up, you're going to need to be careful and hope you don't let anyone find out. This is the last time we'll see each other... good luck Percy."

"Wait Marisol, thank you... so much, thank you." I stopped her and gave her a hug. We parted and she smiled at me, giving a final nod she left and I walked over to Leo's place.

Leo had at first been wary of me but Adam had seemed to convince him to help me. It took Leo three days to create the wristband and fake the prints for my fingers and then my ears. It took Adam four days to crack the code on Anna to add me into the system and fake several documents to create my new identity. I became James Harrison and was able to get a job at a library.

I laid low and at the beginning I only went out to get groceries and do my laundry. I followed the investigation on my case, the news reported what they could get from the Enforcers but it seemed like Percy Jackson had seemingly disappeared. A year later, I had met the most wonderful girl ever.

"Percy, aren't you going to eat?" Piper nudges me and I come back to the present.

I look around and I see waffles, pancakes, muffins ranging from blueberry to chocolate chip to chocolate and red velvet. I see bacon, ham, sausages, eggs scrambled and sunny side up. Hash browns and tater tots. Pitchers of juice and coffee. The smell of the different kinds of foods all making my mouth water. I start to pile food on my plate and I feel Piper's stare on me, but I ignore it. I reason that it must seem odd to someone that I'm always losing myself in my past memories, always stuck in my thoughts.

After we're done eating, Jeremy takes us outside. There we see on the east side, there's a track field, on the west that's the shooting range where we're going to be learning how to shoot the Transform Gun, and in the center is where we'll spare from time to time if we're not inside.

"Alright, let's go to the track, we're gonna run three laps just to see how you kiddies do." Jeremy laughed a hearty laugh.

"Wait, you're running with us too?" Luke asked Jeremy as we made our way across the fresh cut grass.

"You betcha, I'm not letting you Gus just do these exercises."

Once we got on the track field, Jeremy started to jog, and we followed after him, jogging behind him. Slowly, he started to pick up the pace. Around the second lap we were all running, keeping pace and seeing how far we could go. After the third lap Jeremy stopped and turned to us.

"Not bad, now, let's just run until only one of you is left running, let's see how many laps you guys can do before you tire yourselves out." Jeremy smirked.

"Bring it on grandpa," John smirked at Jeremy.

"Oh, slow the roll there macho man." Jeremy started chuckling and John rolled his eyes, a soft smile making its way on his face, "let's do it tough guy," soon enough we started to run again, trying to catch up to the old man.

...

"Thank you for tonight, I had a great time." Danny smiled at me, showing off her gap teeth. I couldn't help but smile back at her.

"It was my pleasure, I really enjoyed myself." I said as I looked down at the ground, unable to meet her eyes. She was so beautiful and so kind and I just couldn't believe she had agreed to go out with me this many times.

"You know, this is the seventh date we've been on..." Danny bit her lip. We were standing outside the door to her apartment. "Would you like to come in for a bit?" She batted her eyelashes at me and looked up at me, giving me a doe-eyed look.

"I- would love to come in." I swallowed thickly, nervous butterflies fluttering around in my stomach.

"Great." Danny smiled at me widely, she turned around and opened the door to her apartment.

Once inside, she closed the door behind me and I walked around her apartment. She had black couches, two of them in the center of the living room and a glass coffee table. The kitchen could be seen from the living room and the dinning room was to the right from where the living room was. The floors were white tile and the walls were a soft lavender.

Danny took off her sweater and put it down on one of her couches, she threw her keys on her coffee table and then turned to me. She leaned in close to me and I could smell her lilac perfume. Danny wound her arms around me and brought me against her body. I wrapped my own arms around her waist and looked down at her. She bit her bottom lip before leaning up on her tip toes and gave me a small kiss. Then she gave one more, and one more until I grabbed her chin and kissed her fiercely. Her hands ran through my hair as I ran my hands down her back.

"Let's take this to the bedroom," Danny panted as she broke away from the kiss.

"Okay," I kissed her once more.

She took my hand and led me to her bedroom, she walked ahead of me and I saw her beautiful little black dress. The back of it was lace and my hands itched to take that dress off of her. Inside her bedroom, she turned around and kissed me hard. I ran my hands along the sides of her body and felt her shiver. I swiped my tongue along the bottom of her lip and she opened her mouth, granting me permission to slip my tongue in. I explored her mouth as I slowly unzipped the back of her dress. Danny was unbuckling my pants and unbuttoning my shirt before slipping the shirt past my shoulders. We stopped kissing and I slipped the dress off of her body. It fell to the ground, pooling at her feet.

I pulled down my pants and stepped out of them. We went back to kissing before I gripped her hips, she walked backwards with me following after her until she fell on her bed. I climbed over her and took off her bra. I kissed her neck, sucking in between her neck and collarbone. She let out a breathy moan as I played with her breasts, pinching her nipples before my hand slipped down her body and under her underwear.

"Ahhh, James," she said breathlessly as I parted her lips and slipped a finger inside.

I made my way down and started to suck at her nipple, licking around before biting it softly and I relished in the squeal she let out. Further down, I took off her underwear. I kissed the inside of her thighs, slowly making my way to her awaiting heat. I parted her lips and slowly, licked her.

_"James!"_ Danny moaned a bit loudly as I continued pleasuring her.

My hands found their way back to her breasts as I swirled my tongue, flicking it lightly and making her let out a long moan. Her hands were in my hair, gripping on to it, lost in bliss. I stopped and went back to her, kissing her once.

"Do you have a condom?" I asked her.

"Yes, bedside drawer." She told me, breathlessly.

I reached over to her drawer and took out a condom. I rolled it on my length and positioned myself. Her long legs wrapped around me, We looked into straight at each other, azure coming into contact with oceanic eyes, before plunging myself into her heat.

_"Ahhhhh."_

"Jackson, we get it now, you've got stamina, now come on boy, let's move on so that we can do other exercises." Jeremy's voice snapped me back into reality.

I stopped running and looked around me. Everyone was sitting on the ground, relaxing and I looked over at Jeremy. He had his hands on his knees, sweat running down his face.

"Boy, you sure can run." Jeremy said to me before telling everyone to get up, we were moving the rest of the lesson inside.

Around dinner time, my body felt completely exhausted and I knew that tomorrow I would be feeling so sore. The workouts were intense and I knew I wasn't the only one feeling this at that moment. Leo looked about ready to pass out, Piper whined about wanting to go to bed and Luke and Apollo were trying not to show how sore they were feeling. The only one that seemed to be not too tired was Adam and it made me wonder if he kept in shape or worked out before he was ever caught. Before I was caught, I used to run and do a couple of exercises so that my chest wouldn't get flabby but it was never as intense as what Jeremy put us all through today.

All of us were at the dinning table when Jeremy came in. "Now, tonight, I want you guys to soak in the shower and let the water be a bit on the hot side. Soak in it for a bit before going to bed because we are not stopping at all, I've got a month to whip you guys up in shape."

There was a collective groan all around to which Jeremy only laughed at before the food was served. Soon enough, we quit our moaning and whining and started to eat. After the exhausting day I was starved and piled food on my plate. It always amazed me how the food got done in time for us to eat and it was always so delicious. The food tasted amazing here, I couldn't get enough of it. It's kind of like I never wanted to _stop _eating.

After dinner, I went to take a hot shower, hoping the water would sooth my sore muscles. The water ran over my hair and down my body, a sigh escaping my mouth. Living here had turned out to be a lot better than what I had thought. Some part of me didn't want to leave this place.

Once this month was through, we would all go back to city and work with the Enforcers, we would be treated lowly by them. And it was unfair because we were human like them, the only difference was that we broke the "rules". We had done a crime and from what I heard from half of the people here, it wasn't even that serious, with the exception of Leo and Adam. Not to mention I was innocent in the murder of my family yet I was being pinned for it. The system was messed up.

Not only had my family died, but so had my girlfriend. My gorgeous girlfriend. If my family hadn't been killed, I would've met Danny at some point in my life and by now, I would've planning on how to propose to her. I would be thinking of ways to go about asking that wonderful girl to marry me because Danny was an amazing girl who had made me happy, and it wasn't fair that _he_ had taken her away from me. It wasn't fair that he had taken my life from me.

I turned off the water and stepped out of the shower. Drying myself with my towel I got changed quickly and made my way upstairs. Our clothes had come in a little bit after lunch so my dresser was full of my clothes. I looked around the room and saw that almost everyone had already fallen asleep. Turning the lights off, I dragged my tired body to bed.

Laying down, I looked up at the ceiling and thought about how my life could have been like if only things hadn't gone the way they did. And I wished with all of heart that all of this was just a dream. A really horrible dream. If only it were.


	4. Chapter 4 Dutiful Servant

_Hello everyone! Thank you all so much for the wonderful reviews, here is the next chapter to Resistance!_

**_Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson and The Olympians_**

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><p><em>Dutiful Servant<em>

I took a sip of my coffee as the elevator made its ascend upwards to Gaea's office. She had called me yesterday and asked me to come in today. I figured she would since she was leaving on a business trip and as always, she would call me on the day she was leaving to stop by her office two hours before her departure so that we could talk and catch up. It was a gesture that sent a warm feeling through my body because it was nice to know someone cared for me even after my family's murder.

The elevators opened up to reveal the hallway down to Gaea's office. I walked down it and came across Minerva's desk where she was, as always, typing away furiously at the computer screen. She always kept busy, I have never once seen her relax.

"Good morning Minerva," I greet as I pass by her.

"Good morning Nico," she looks at me briefly before going back to work.

I open the door to Gaea's office and see Gaea talking on the phone with someone. She turns my way and signals me that she'll only be a minute. I smile her way, telling her it's okay. She's busy arranging things last minute. As she tells me this trip she's making is important and so she needs things to go smoothly. She finally hangs up the phone and huffs out, massaging her temple.

"Seems like things are getting difficult on purpose to make you lose your patience," I say jokingly and Gaea laughs softly.

"Things need to go smoothly, I am meeting with the president of the United States after all," Gaea's forest green eyes turned to look at me. "How are things going?"

"They're going well, not much has been happening, crime is low." I shrugged my shoulders as I moved to sit down on the couch she had in the office.

"I can see that, I've read a few of the reports from the Enforcers and it seems like things are quiet but... that bothers me," Gaea had a worried expression on her visage.

"Why?" I question.

"It's sort of like the calm before the storm, things are a bit too quiet around here..."

"Do you think-"

"I need to talk to you about something important Nico," Gaea cut me off.

"Okay, I'm all ears." I glanced her way.

"It regards Percy Jackson."

I blinked and looked at her. She couldn't have been serious right? Did she really say Percy Jackson? What did _he _have to do with- with...anything really?

"I am going to need you to watch Percy Jackson, Nico, he is a very special case." Gaea elaborated.

"Yeah no kidding," I snorted, "he killed his family."

"Just watch him carefully please? I feel that there is more to him than meets the eye, what do you say?" Gaea gave me a smile, "will you me do the favor? I only trust you, which is why I had him paired up with you."

My lips were pressed into a thin line but I couldn't flat out deny Gaea, so I shook my head sullenly.

"Excellent, thank you my dear boy." Gaea beamed and I couldn't help but smile back.

"Okay, so you're going to Tribeka?" I asked, wanting to change the subject.

Gaea picked up and followed through, "yes, I'll be doing a routine check, see how Atlas is handling things. After I will be heading off to the United States which is going to be a five hour trip by plane, and meet with the president. And of course the House Of Representatives, I'm petitioning for the approval to reveal Attica and Tribeka to the US and then, well the rest of the world."

That was Gaea's dream. She had started Attica and Tribeka with the dream of being able to change the US for the better. She had gotten funding around thirty years or so ago from the president back then, I always forget his name... Unfortunately the catch was that these communities would run secretly from the rest of the world, and Gaea would have to report back to the House every year so that they could track it's progress.

There was much debate going on, with two sides always arguing about what should be done with her project. Some wanted to share this with the country, have it prosper and evolve; others felt that it was unnatural and controlling, somewhat eliminating the freedom in which the country was once built on. Because both sides couldn't agree, the project never stepped forward.

Until now, a new president had been elected and he had looked into Gaea's files, the idea piquing his interest. He contacted Gaea a few months back, asking her to come in and explain in full detail her project which she did, he then promised her he would try his hardest to get a vote to petition for the release of her project and move it forward. Gaea was now going to be giving a speech; off the record of course to the House and ask them to vote on what would happen with her project in one year. If it moved forward, Gaea and Atlas were going to work together but if it didn't, Attica and Tribeka would stay hidden away; since the citizens were already used to that way of life.

I hoped that Gaea would get the vote to be able to move forward. She had worked hard for the better half of her life to accomplish this goal. She had kept going even after the death of both of her sons and husband. Gaea had lost everyone dear to her long ago, which is why now, she tried to spend as much time with me as possible. She told me a year after the death of my family, after growing just a bit closer to her, that I reminded her a lot of her younger son. Maybe that was why she was so sympathetic towards me when I found out my father had murdered my mother and sister. Maybe that was why we had connected. Maybe it was because we both knew what loss felt like.

"Good luck, if I know you, you've got a way with words, I'm sure you'll charm them to see your side of the coin," I smile as I grab her hand.

"Thank you my boy, that gives me courage, I think I'm going to be okay. I think I'll be able to convince the nonbelievers."

Suddenly a call came through on a loud speaker, "Gaea, your plane is here to transport you to Tribeka, if you wish to be on time, I suggest you would leave now please." Minerva's voice cut through the moment.

"Yes, thank you Minerva." Gaea answered before she got up. "Well, I'm off. I'm leaving Minerva in charge and I trust you to keep things running smoothly at the AECPC?"

"You know me Gaea, I'll hold things down, good luck with the speech." I smile softly at her.

"Thank you Nico, oh and remember what I said, when the hounds come back I won't be here to remind you, it's going to be a four-week trip to Tribeka and the States." Gaea ruffled my hair once before we made our way out of her office where Minerva was waiting patiently for her with a tablet in her hand, tapping away at it.

"I will Gaea, I'll keep an eye on him." I shook my head.

"Thank you, good luck dear! I'll see you when I come back!"

"Have a safe trip!" I call out to her before the elevator doors close and it goes up to the roof.

I stand in the hallway and wait for to them come back so that I can go to work and start my day.

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><p>I entered the building of the AECPC and went straight to my office on the second floor. Riding the elevator up with soft music playing in the background I thought over my conversation with Gaea and why she wanted me to watch an insignificant dog. There really was nothing special about Percy Jackson other than he was convicted of murdering his family and there was speculation that he had also killed Daniela Amaya, his girlfriend supposedly. Although that was thrown out of the question since they had looked into her death and found that her death was caused by a car accident. I looked over his file and read the details of it.<p>

He had gone and graduated high school, he was a normal kid who had made captain of the swim team and had gone to college for all of two months before he disappeared from the system and went under a pseudonym. How he got in back in the system with the fake name and details to his life were still up for debate between the higher ups in the AECPC but they came to the conclusion that Adam Gonzalez had something to do with it. He was apparently a whiz with technology as was the other hound Leo Valdez, but they didn't trust Gonzalez and so put Valdez to help out Calypso with tech from time to time.

There was something else to Percy Jackson's file. During the time that he was sixteen years old to eighteen, there was no record that he had taken his daily injection that every citizen in Attica and Tribeka had to take. It seemed like he stopped and so the higher ups talked of how that could have played into the murder of his family. Even as James Harrison, he didn't take the injections needed, but I bet that had to do with him being in hiding. Still, what was his reason for not taking the injections?

I walked down the hallway, turning left until my office came into view. The blinds were ope, revealing my obsidian desk with my white computer in the center. Once I was nearby, the door slid open and closed behind me. The floor was a dark gray carpet, I had a shelf off to the side stacked with books and a cabinet filled with files on past cases and special files on people. I put my bag away on the bottom of my shelf and turned on my computer. My desk was impeccably clean and organized, everything I needed was where it always was and never out of place.

On my desk was the file I had asked for; being close to Gaea had its perks. I had asked for the file on Percy Jackson and his family so that I could learn more about him. Settling down in my chair, I opened up the file and flipped through. The first few pages had information I had already read on Percy Jackson that I had no interest in reading. I skipped a few pages until I came to Sally Jackson, a woman who had married Poseidon Jackson back when they lived in the States. It seemed as though, that when Attica was first being built, Sally and Poseidon had been able to live here.

Poseidon... his name sounded familiar, as if it were important to know how it connected. My brain kept tugging at the name and I couldn't help but skip to the pages that information on him. Unfortunately, when I got to Poseidon Jackson, all I found was the date of his birth, when he came to live in Attica, and what he worked in once he started life here. He worked as an accountant, nothing special and Sally owned a shop, a small one that sold things to decorate one's home. Somewhat like an arts and crafts store.

I was completely absorbed in reading Percy Jackson's file I didn't notice I had company in my office until I heard a throat being cleared. I looked up to see Rose standing there, waiting for me to take note of her presence. I close the file and lean back in my chair.

"Sorry to disturb... your reading, I can see how engrossed you were but, we've got a job." Rose held up a file in her left hand. "And it's not at all pretty."

I reach over for the file and she hands it to me. I open it up and read the contents written in it. Apparently at an all-girls private school, a school girl went missing about two days ago. The school was heavily monitored and secured during the night, so it left the staff puzzled as to how could someone sneak in and take one of their students.

"Alright," I huff slightly, "let's go."

...

Three hours later, and we're in the more suburban parts of Attica, away from the city noise and into the more quieter streets. Rose drives the car and makes a left where the road suddenly converges into a single road straight down. The trees are positioned a certain way on each side of the road, making it all seem pretty. A minute later, we make it to the front of the school. I see these huge iron gates slowly start to open and we drive in slowly, rounding the driveway before we stop in front of the main school doors. We step out and soon enough, we see the headmaster of the school approach us. Rose and I make our way up the many steps of the staircase and we meet the headmaster halfway.

The school is huge, resembling a castle somewhat. The outside of the school is gray cement with a great wooden door for the main entrance. The field that surrounded the school was green and freshly cut. There was a garden off to the side and trees were abundant. The school looked absolutely perfect and well guarded for I saw several guards walking around the vicinity. I wondered how exactly had a student been able to disappear from this school.

"Hello Enforcers, thank you so much for coming, I am headmaster Alison Truman, pleasure to make your acquaintance," headmaster Truman holds out her hand for Rose to shake at first and then me.

"Hello headmaster Truman, I'm Enforcer Nico and this is my partner Rose, now could you please tell us from the beginning how exactly did one of your students go missing?"

"Yes of course, let's make our way inside please," headmaster Truman turns around and we follow after her, entering the school building.

Inside, I see several students, all of them girls making their way to their next class. Opening up their lockers and taking out the necessary materials. They're wearing a uniform composed of navy blue skirts, white knee-high socks, black shoes and white dress shirts with a black bow tie and a navy cardigan either tied on their waists or hung on their arms.

The floor was a sort of pinkish marble and the walls of the school were beige and pristine. The more we walked through the school, the more I saw how spacious it was. It had to be considering the students roomed at the school. We made it to the office of the headmaster and entered through the oak door. Her office was big but it still managed to feel cozy and welcoming. She had a huge desk that was a dark chocolate brown with two couches placed in front of her. Rose and I sat down in the couches and Rose took a notepad. The headmaster sat down in her own chair and looked ready to answer any of our questions.

"Now, what can you tell us of Penny Shwartz," Rose got straight to it.

"Well, Penny was a very popular girl around the school. She was captain of the volleyball and soccer team and she was a very talented art student. She was really focused on art, she loved to paint. In fact, she would compete sometimes for the school and so won us a lot of publicity for the arts program and from gallery owners. She was also extremely smart, grades were very important to her. The girl was a role model to the student body, even being president for her grade a year back." Headmaster Truman spoke of Penny Shwartz. "The girl never got in to trouble and she never had a problem with any of the girls at school, she was always looked up to."

"I highly doubt that everything was sunshine and rainbows," Rose said without stopping her note taking.

"E-excuse me?"

"Headmaster, I'll tell you one thing and its that when someone as perfect as Penny comes along, thing is, it isn't really all that perfect. Girls are vicious and when they see a girl as perfect as Penny who seems to be able to do it all, there's bound to be bad blood." Rose elaborated.

"No, there were never any quarrels with Penny..."

"Then she must have done something to get the girls off her back. Nothing is ever as clean cut as this."

"I have to agree with my partner here, something's up, all of this," I waved my hand around, "is too good to be true."

"How was Penny's home life like? Her parents?" Rose questioned the headmaster who seemed a bit dazed.

"Uh, her mother died when she was very young and her father is the CEO of company... her home life was normal, as normal for a kid growing up in a rich family, she had certain expectations that she had to follow through with."

"What of her father, how is he reacting to his daughter's disappearance?" I asked the headmaster.

"He's taken it rather hard, he's overseeing the search for Penny."

"Do you know if we'll be able to talk to him after we're done here?" I inquired.

"I believe so," she responded.

"Now, what of her roommate, and her friends, have they said anything that is of any meaning?" I stood from my seat and walked around the office as I waited for the answer to my question.

"No they haven't..."

"We would like to speak to them, if we may," Rose looked to the headmaster to see if the request would be denied.

"O-of course, I'll call for her roommate and her closest friends."

"Thank you headmaster." Rose smiled her way, but it felt faked.

"Excuse me for one second Enforcers."

The headmaster left the office and I looked to Rose, her face impassive which seemed rather odd.

"So, what are your thoughts on all of this?" I ask as I move closer to her.

"It's too perfect, the girl, she's too perfect and no one is this perfect. How can she be the prom queen and not be hated by some of the student, surely there are one or two envious girls in this school who thought Penny Shwartz wasn't all that." Rose shrugged her shoulders.

"That makes sense, so what, you think a teenage girl is capable of murder?"

"No, but think about it, these girls all of these girls, they're rich, they go to daddy if they ever need anything or money... maybe one of them hired someone?"

"That's absurd, why would anyone go through the trouble much less be that smart about the situation."

"I guess so but we've got to look at every option here Nico, how could a seventeen year old idol student disappear from a very well guarded school?" Rose glanced my way.

"Let's talk to her little friends and see which one of them will crack first." I grunted.

Soon enough the headmaster returned and asked us to follow her to an empty classroom where she set up a private meeting with Penny's roommate first. We were to talk to each person separately until we gathered enough information on Penny. The classroom we were led into had row after row of desks. There was blank blackboard behind us and the blinds on the windows were drawn halfway down.

"Enforcers, this was Penny's roommate, Jane," the headmaster introduced the roommate of Penny.

The girl had red hair that was straight and flowed down like a waterfall, she had green eyes like pine and pale skin with freckles dusting her nose and cheeks.

"Hello Jane," I greet the girl, "my name is Nico, and this is Rose. Would you please come have a seat, me and my partner just need to ask you a few questions about Penny."

Jane nodded her head as she sat down in front of me and Rose.

"So Jane, what was Penny like? Was she nice?" Rose asked Jane, speaking softly.

"Yeah, Penny was nice, she was nice to everyone around her." Jane answered looking down at the desk.

"She wasn't a typical popular girl who was only nice around adults but was actually really mean?" Rose crossed her arms over her chest.

Jane hesitated a second before responding, "she wasn't all perfect like everybody said..."

"And why do you say that?" I asked her.

"She was very self-conscious, something she never told her friends because they always thought her to be confident but she wasn't, at least not all the time... especially around boys, during mixers before leaving our room she always fussed about how she looked which was ridiculous because Penny was so pretty."

"Mixers?" I asked Jane.

"Yeah, headmaster Truman and headmaster Xavier from the all-boys school held these mixers for the boys and girls so that we could become comfortable around the opposite gender."

"Was there anything else that seemed strange or a bit off with Penny?" Rose asked Jane.

"Not really just that she was very self-conscious..." Jane looked down at the desk she was sitting at.

"Okay, thank you Jane." I tell her she's free to go and to send in the next girl.

We went through all of her friends and learned of how she was just a normal girl who did well in school and was really well-liked. Not all of the girls liked Penny but it was never enough to make it seem as if they wanted to hurt her, in fact a lot of the girls were scared about what happened to Penny. Penny was in every aspect of the word, the perfect role model. Rose huffed in annoyance as we finished up with the last girl. She paced the classroom floor, her notepad in hand going back and forth between notes.

"Nothing, absolutely nothing. We've got no leads whatsoever." Rose stopped pacing.

"Not necessarily," I get up from the desk and go over to Rose, taking the notepad from her hand and flipping to the page I desire. "See, all of Penny's friends and even her enemies talked about how Penny acted in the public eye."

"Yes and what of it?" Rose asked.

"Penny was brought up to behave a certain way when in the public eye even at school, Jane seemed to be the only one who told us of Penny's flaws even if they were minor ones, for instance, the fact that Penny got really nervous around boys and was self-conscious."

Rose's eyebrows furrowed as she thought back, possibly through every conversation we had with every girl we interviewed.

"Let's have a talk with daddy and get a feel on strict of a father he was, then we go back and talk to Jane."

"Okay, please don't ever say _daddy _because that sounded weird as hell," Rose shook her head and laughed as soon as she saw my expression.

...

Ten minutes later, we were in Mr. Shwartz's private quarters near the school, it seemed as though he decided to take up residence near the school in case his daughter ever came back.

"What can I do for you Enforcers?" Mr. Patrick Shwartz asked us as he fixed himself a cup of alcohol, well the synthetic kind of course. Even if it was synthetic, it still had the affects of actual alcohol although it was more mild.

"We need to ask you a few questions if you don't mind Mr. Shwartz," Rose began.

"Oh yes, about... Penny..."

"How was your daughter raised?" I asked, taking a seat in one of the couches available.

"My daughter had a nurse look after her after my wife died and when I was too busy to watch after her."

"And now, you have a certain image to uphold to the public am I correct?" I asked Penny's father.

"Yes," he spoke slowly, eyeing me, "I do."

"Now, I'm sure Penny was taught from a young age her responsibility while out in public, correct?" Rose asked him.

"Well, I told her she had to act a certain way while out, the media is pretty vicious when they want to be and I didn't need anything to be circulating about my daughter. She was too young to deal with that." Mr. Shwartz looked at a picture of himself and Penny that was hanging down the wall of his quarters. "Penny took it to the heart at times, that she needed to watch what she did at all times. I only meant that when we were out in public but she always did it even when we weren't under watchful eyes."

"Thank you for your time Mr. Shwartz, we have everything we need." I get up from the couch and see Rose giving me a look, probably to ask me why I had abruptly ended the questioning.

"Yes, thank you, we'll get back to you when we have more information, have a good night." Rose followed my lead and we exited the room. Once outside, Rose caught up to me and kept pace with me, "what the hell was that about?"

"We need to go back and talk to Jane, even with her father Penny acted the same, we need to know what made Jane so special that Penny let her guard down around her."

"Fine, I'm trusting you on this.." Rose muttered as she followed me back to the school.

We came up to the front steps and made our way up, walking past the front door and to the office of the headmaster. I knocked on the door twice and waited for it to open.

"Yes?" Headmaster Truman answered the door, opening it fully and looking surprised to see us. "Enforcers, what can I do for you?"

"We need to speak with Jane once more, please, it's important." I ask the headmaster.

"Well, it's late and Jane is a student who has classes the next day..."

"We won't be long, I assure you headmaster," Rose smiled her way.

"If it's important, then I guess I could allow a few minutes with Jane, come along Enforcers," headmaster Truman walked ahead of us up a stairwell. We came to the second floor before going down a long hallway that led to the dorms.

We passed by a few closed doors until we came across another set of stairs and went up two more floors before going down another hallway. Finally, we came at a stop near a closed door and headmaster Truman knocked on it until there was a voice on the other side that said she was coming. The door opened to reveal Jane in her pajamas, the light in her room low with only two lamps turned on and a book set face down on her bed.

"Headmaster Truman? Enforcers Nico and Rose?" Jane asked in confusion, "what's going on?"

"Nothing serious Jane, me and Nico just to need to ask you a few questions is all, I hope you don't mind?" Rose asked politely.

"Okay, sure, it's fine." Jane let us come in and headmaster Truman left us alone with Jane. "So, what do you need to ask me?"

"So we figured something out about Penny," Rose starts.

"And what's that?" Confusion laced Jane's words.

"Penny always seemed to put up a face whenever she was in public, she never revealed her true self, not to anyone, not her friends, not even her father so, what made you so special that she let her guard down with you? Hm?" Rose walked up to Jane and looked at the girl straight in the eyes.

Jane was trembling slightly, her bottom lip quivering just a bit.

"What do you have on her Jane?" Rose asked the redheaded girl.

"I-I don't have anything on Penny... look me and P-Penny were just roommates..."

"Why do I feel like as if you're lying?" Rose paced back and forth.

"I-I'm not, I'm telling the truth-"

"Maybe not the whole truth though," I cut Jane off. "Jane, it's okay to tell us what you know of Penny that no one else knew, you can trust us and you won't get in trouble."

"This could help us Jane, please." Rose pleaded with the girl.

Jane swallowed visibly and looked down at the floor.

"She made me promise not to tell anyone, and I swear, this was the only reason she even let me in in the first place..." Jane took a deep breath before continuing. "As I said before, Penny was very self-conscious and she got easily nervous around boys but it was mostly because if she were found flirting with boys, she always panicked about what the media would write about her. Lots of guys found that off-putting and so called her a prude which didn't help her self-esteem at all. I would console as much as I could... Over summer break, she wrote to me once saying she meet a boy who was nice to her and didn't mind at all her paranoia. I wrote back telling her to be careful around him."

"What was the boy's name?" I asked Jane.

"His name was Matthew Hastings, he was eighteen years old and a senior in high school, not a private one like the ones at our mixers but at a public school back in the city." Jane answered.

"So, she met this boy in the city... what else?" Rose questioned.

"When she came back, Penny was a bit different, she suddenly started to show her true self to the rest of her friends and at first I thought that that was great, it meant she was getting out of her shell but then after awhile she became reserved... even with me..." Jane's eyebrows furrowed and her face scrunched up slightly. "I convinced her to confide in me once more and that was when she told me about Matthew again. The way she talked about him... he sounded controlling and he was very possessive, quick to get jealous... he was so jealous that he even crashed one of our mixers and after it was done, he beat up a boy he had seen talking with Penny."

"So Matthew was a controlling boyfriend?" Rose asked Jane, who nodded her head, "you would go as far as to say he was abusive?"

"Yes, it escalated to the point where he slapped Penny once and after that she told him to leave her alone. She broke up with him, deleted his number and told him to leave her alone or else she would get her father involved. With him out of her life, she felt she could breathe a bit easier now... and then a month ago... he started sending her messages and calling her.. he started to... _stalk _her and it was scaring Penny out of her wits. She was about to tell her dad of the situation but... see Penny had a cat at home, Snowball and when she went to tell her dad, a day before she received a package..." Jane stopped and looked away in disgust.

"We opened the package in our room and... oh god- I just..." Jane stopped and took a breath, "her cat... her cat was mailed to her with a note attached to its body... her cat was cut open with its insides out and in the n-note... it said, _'tell daddy and I'll make sure you're next'... _Penny cried that night in my arms..." Jane had tears in her eyes and I moved to give her a few tissues.

"What happened next?" I asked her as she took the tissues from my hand.

"A couple of days before her disappearance, she told me that... she felt her time was coming to an end... I-I didn't know what she meant... then I got a note on my desk it said to stay away from Penny, that Penny belonged to _him._ I didn't know how he even got in to the school!" Jane shook her head as more tears came running down her face. "Now Penny's gone and I don't know if she's even alive and... she _needs _to be alive, please, you've gotta save her!"

"We will try our best, but we can't promise you anything," Rose said softly.

I looked over at Rose and she nodded in understanding, we were going to pay Matthew a visit.

* * *

><p>We drove to the address we got from Calypso where Matthew supposedly lived. I looked out the window and saw the building where Matthew was at, by Calypso's message. The building wasn't really all that new but it wasn't in ruin either, it looked average, a bit less than average. We got out, our TG's in our hands and made our way to the building, where we entered and made our way up the stairs to the fifth floor. We moved down the hall until we reached the door that led to Matthew's apartment.<p>

From the information Calypso sent, he now lived alone having moved out of his parents house since he graduated early from high school. I looked at Rose and she nodded her head once. I stepped back and got ready to break the door down. I lifted my leg before kicking it down on the door, near the doorknob to make it easier to break down, with as much force as I could muster. Rose went in and held her TG in position, aiming and looking around her surroundings. I entered next and walked into another room. For one second, everything was quiet until we heard the unmistakable muffled scream of a girl in danger.

Rose and I ran to the bedroom and I flung the door open. There we saw a girl who resembled the picture we received when we took on the case of the missing Penny Shwartz. A girl with blonde hair and hazel eyes, with peachy skin and a slim yet tall body. She was tied to a bedpost, a muzzle around her mouth, her hair in disarray and tears running down her face. She had on revealing clothes, probably put on her by Matthew and she had blood on the inside of her thighs.

"Nico," Rose said in a shaky voice, her mask of the emotionless Enforcer falling, "she's been raped."

I untie Penny and carry her bridal style, "we've gotta get her out of here, call for back up- Rose!"

A guy with light brown curly hair and brown eyes is standing there with a sword in his hands. He swings and Rose barely ducks the blow, she stumbles and falls on the floor.

"You are not taking her away from me, I _need _her in my life, Penny belongs to me. She belongs to me!" Matthew screams. "Ever since I met her I knew, I _knew _that we belonged together... no one is gonna have her do you hear me! NO ONE IS GOING TO HAVE HER!"

I looked over at Rose and saw her studying Matthew and the way he was holding the sword; which I had no idea how he got it in the first place.

"No one gets to have her! Only me! You hear me Penny! You belong to me!"

In a flash, Rose was up on her feet. She slammed her elbow right in Matthew's face, momentarily dazing him. She quickly disarmed him and took the sword from his hand. In no time, she had the tip of the sword on his neck, daring him to move.

"You're crazy buddy," Rose grunted.

"B-but... I belong to Penny... I met her and- and- she... she was so beautiful and... she- I became her slave... I became her servant... I had to be the only one to have her!"

"That's rough buddy, but it looks like you're going to have to let go of Penny, for one thing, you're a big bowl of crazy." Rose said sarcastically.

"I'll call for backup, think you can handle him?" I ask Rose just before I leave.

"Yeah, just hurry."

...

Matthew was transported to Attica Annex Facility and Penny was brought back to her father where Jane was waiting for her. Penny hugged her father tightly, crying before hugging Jane, and for a brief moment, Jane's and Penny's foreheads touched as they looked each other in the eyes. I studied them from afar and watched how Penny hung on to Jane's hand. Paramedics soon took Penny away to have her examined and to discuss treatment. Her hue had become just a bit cloudy and she needed treatment to get her hue down.

"So, Matthew became obsessed with Penny, saying he had become a slave to her... doing things only for her like some kind of servant, serving her and only her... or so he says." Rose shrugged her shoulders as she looked over her notes.

"The guy was crazy," I shook my head.

"Well, a job well done, we got the girl back home safely, am I right? So good job partner."

"Yeah, same to you..." I looked over at Rose and raised a single eyebrow, "by the way, how did you know to disarm a guy with a sword, which by the way I found he got on the black market."

"I learned to fight with a sword, I came from the States remember? Back when I was sixteen, well before that I learned how to fight with different swords, especially since I lived with an aunt who loved to travel and loved cultural." Rose smiled softly.

I realized, this was the first time I had an actual conversation with Rose even though we worked together for the better of three years already.

"I know how to fight with swords, and well I even have my own dojo..." I looked over at Rose who raised a single eyebrow, "want to come over one day and duel?"

Rose smirked my way, "definitely, let's see what you're made of."

* * *

><p>I went to my door absolutely tired from today and deciding to do the report tomorrow when I went back to the office. I opened the door and stepped inside my apartment, the lights turning on automatically. Right when I entered, there was a yellow note hanging on a white piece of string, that dangled from the ceiling of my apartment. I plucked the note, my eyebrows furrowing as I looked at the note and wondered who the hell could've put this.<p>

_Look at you! You're nothing but a servant, doing whatever the big boss tells you to do! Which is why... you'll never see me coming!_

Who the hell had been in my apartment?


	5. Chapter 5 Never Let Your Guard Down

_Hello everyone! I just want to thank all of you who take the time to review my story, even if it's just a small comment. I really do appreciate it, since I've put so much into this story, so thank you! I'm sorry that this chapter is so short but hopefully next chapter isn't so short... after all, the hounds and Enforcers will soon be reunited! Now, onto the story._

**_Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson and The Olympians_**

* * *

><p><em>Never Let Your Guard Down<em>

I can hear her.

Her soft moans. A small squeal of delight. A breathless gasp as I bury myself deep inside her.

I run my hands down her body, feeling her soft skin. So soft and smooth.

_"Mmmm, James," _she purrs.

I feel her tighten around me and I groan at the sensation. She feels so damn _good. _I love her, I do. I realize that now that I love her. I can feel her run her hands through my hair when suddenly she grips my hair hard, letting out a particularly loud moan. Sex is slow, not fast and carnal, it's slow and sensual. It's passionate...except, she isn't exactly looking at me. Not like how she usually does whenever we have sex. She's not looking at me and I don't know why.

"Danny," I call out to her.

She ignores me and a small part of me feels a bit hurt.

"Love," I try again, "look at me."

Look at me. Please, look at me while we make love. Why isn't she looking at? But she stubbornly keeps her face to the side, she ignores me and I'm hurt that she would do that to me.

She's never done something to purposely hurt me.

"Danny," I say with a little bit more force, but she doesn't even flinch. "Fucking look at me!"

I stop my movements and I can feel her bucking her hips, wanting me to resume again in our lovemaking.

"Why?" She asks quietly. "You're not going to like what you see."

A sense of dread slowly seeps into my bones as she looks off to the side. She's stopped bucking her hips and instead tightens her legs around me. There's something wrong with this picture, I know it but I just can't seem to put my finger on it.

Danny snaps her head to me so fast I flinch before taking in a good look at her, and I stare in horror at Danny. Her face is torn up, well half of it is. The left side of her face has her skin falling off, a rusted car piece stuck on her head. Her lips are cut, broken, bruised. I can feel a scream welling up inside me but I never release it. I'm frozen in place and all I want to do is get the hell away from her, but I can't. She's got a tight grip on me and doesn't seem too keen on letting me go.

"D-Danny?" My voice trembles.

Danny laughs mockingly. "Tell me Percy, do you _like_ fucking the dead?"

"Stop!" I struggle to get away from her.

"Why did I have to meet _you_?" Danny asks in an accusing tone.

"Let me go!" I yell in fear, panic seizing me.

"I am _dead _because of you!" Danny shouts. "Your parents are dead because of you! _You_ are the cause of everything! You _killed _me!"

"No! I didn't- I d-didn't mean to!"

_"Why?!"_

I want to get out, get away from her, I _need_ to get away from her!

"Leave me alone!" I shout.

Her body soon starts to bleed out. Blood is seeping out of her body and on to the bed, she's slowly disintegrating into the bed. A horrible wail leaves her mouth before she's soon nothing but a pool of blood.

I bolt up and open my eyes to the dark room.

_It was just a dream..._

It was only just a dream. I was dreaming. None of it was real.

My breathing is irregular, as is my pulse. I've got sweat on my forehead and behind my back. I'm alert and I don't think I'll be going to sleep soon. I was just dreaming but that didn't stop what was running through my mind. Dream Danny had been right. I was the cause of her death and maybe...even the indirect cause of my family's death as well. I rubbed a hand down my face. I wasn't going back to sleep, that was for sure.

...

Sunlight hits my eyes and slowly I start to wake up. Again.

I had thought I wouldn't have been able to go back to sleep but it seemed like my mind and body had said otherwise. I rub the sleep out of my eyes and look around the room. Piper is up and about, waking everyone up. I stay still for awhile sitting on my bed and think back to the horrible dream I had in the middle of the night about Danny. I didn't think I could conjure up such a dream. I felt a shiver run down my spine and my heart clench in my chest.

"Come on Percy, time to get ready," Piper takes me out of my stupor and pushes me onto my feet.

We all make our way downstairs where we take a shower first before going to breakfast. After living here for three and plus weeks already, some things became routine. As I feel the water run down my body I can't help but think back to my nightmare. It wasn't the first time I had a nightmare concerning Danny's death but it was never as grotesque as the one from last night. Lately, it seems like my dreams just keep getting worse. I've got no idea what to do about them...

I shut the water and dry myself with the towel, patting down my body. Pushing my troubled thoughts to the back of my mind I start to change into clean clothes, then I go to the dining room, where at least half of the hounds are just beginning to eat breakfast. Jeremy has yet to make an appearance.

Over the last couple of weeks, he has taught us how to box, kickbox, how to think fast on our feet and look for escape routes. You never know when it could come in handy. He sharpened our minds to sometimes think outside of the box, and even let us read a few past cases that Enforcers had to work on with their hounds. Jeremy had told us that each case was different but that most of the time, the Enforcers usually solved it before any bloodshed could be spilled. Talk about preventing crime before it happened...if only they could have done that with my family...with Danny.

We've learned how to use real guns and the issued TG guns given to both Enforcers and hounds whenever they're on a case. Jeremy told us that he taught us a precaution. After all, a lot of criminals got some of their weapons off the black market. In fact, there were a lot of things going on underground. Things being sold and shipped off, such as; alcohol, drugs, weapons, technology. It wasn't all bad either, art was also smuggled in, books and even music. Because Anna was programmed a certain way, things sort of changed, and what changed was creativity. Art had to be approved by Anna before it could be presented to the public and to show for it, there was very little art around, in fact it was almost nonexistent. For writers is almost the same deal, books had to be approved in case there was anything harmful presented in them. The only books Percy had ever seen were informative or do-it-yourself books.

There was no adventure in books, love, mystery, crime; absolutely nothing. The magic in books just wasn't there anymore. So there were mostly never any books. Ernest Hemingway, Emily Dickinson, Edgar Allan Poe, Shakespeare, F. Scott Fitzgerald; they were all gone. Or at least not allowed in Attica. As for music, it seemed a bit more lenient. Bands were given a list of things to sing about, but besides that creativity was mostly found in bands. Again, as with art and writing, the band had to be approved by Anna to be able to perform for crowds. If you weren't approved, the group would have to disband and all of the members would have to find jobs elsewhere. Of course Anna would help by suggesting a few jobs that you were best for, depending on your aptitude and how high you had scored on a test you took towards the end of high school.

Whatever the case, Attica and Tribeka were both very sheltered. And a bit controlled as well. I saw a few things and learned a bit about the community and found myself doubting if having such a controlled city was a good thing or not. Sure crime was controlled and things ran smoothly but it made me wonder about a few things. It made me question whether or not it was such a good idea to have a very controlled and monitored city. Not to mention that the city, it seemed to lack a bit of freedom, making things seem bland. It lacked personality, if a community could have one...

"Perce," Piper once again startled me out of my thoughts. "Are you okay?" She looked at me, her eyebrows furrowing and concern filling her orbs.

"Yeah, just in a bit of a daze is all," I smiled weakly at Piper.

"Okay..." she didn't sound convinced but she didn't pester on.

I sat down next her and Amber was soon sitting down next to me. Over the past weeks, I branched out more and learned a few things about everyone in the house. Leo had apologized to me after the second night being here, saying he was sorry and that he was an idiot jumping to conclusions. Things between us after that got a lot better and I found out we had a lot in common, especially when it came to humor. Apollo was a huge flirt, but he was a nice guy all around. Luke had a bit of a snappy attitude at times but other than that he was alright and was sometimes funny. Amber was sweet and kind, and she was very talented, especially when it came to writing songs. Clarisse had a temper and seemed to only wear a permanent scowl on her face. Silena was a sweetheart I couldn't believe she was actually one of us. Adam was a prankster and he had this mischievous air about him but he was cool to hang around with. Mason, John, Melissa, Joanna, Beth, and Noah were all cool as well. I learned after my first week that they hadn't met there partners yet but that was because they were busy working a job and couldn't make it so they would meet their Enforcers after this month ended.

Speaking of which, the month was close to finishing, just one more week I believe and then we would all go back to live our Enforcers... That meant that _he _was going to be there too. I would have to see him again and live with him for who knew how long. I formed a fist with my left hand. Just thinking about how he looked at me...like I was trash or worse, it made my blood boil. Not to mention some part of me felt disgusted that I had even felt anything at all for him, that I had thought of him as attractive. All I could see now were those black orbs and how much I wanted to bash his face in.

I exhaled deeply through my nose. No reason to be getting worked about someone I shouldn't even care about. I forked my eggs a bit too harsh and the sound of the metal fork hitting the platter made a shrill noise making Amber look my way. I just smiled at her and she reciprocated the action before going back to writing on a piece of paper. I calmed myself down, today, I would not be thinking about Danny or my Enforcer whom I refused to name, mostly because I wanted to forget his name. Today, I would be focus on whatever lessons Jeremy taught us.

After breakfast all fifteen of us go up the stairs with Jeremy following after us, now that we know our way around the place he doesn't need to chaperone us as much. We go up to the third floor and enter the huge gym we've become so familiar with. Jeremy has told us to split up and focus on whatever we needed to work on. Wherever we had our weak points, we had to focus on them and work on getting them stronger. I decided I was still feeling a bit angry from breakfast not to mention that I was feeling creeped out by the dream I had had, so I went to one of the punching bags that were hanging. Strapping on protective gloves, I exhaled through my mouth and began to punch the bag, taking out whatever emotion I was feeling. Whatever was bothering I let go once I started to hit the bag more.

I tried to empty my mind, to let go of my thoughts so that I could be able to focus on only punching the punching bag in front of me. I had cleared my thoughts from _him _and from Danny. I had cleared my thoughts from whatever guilt I was feeling over my family. I cleared my mind from everything, or at least I had tried to, for a certain memory stuck and latched on to me. My eyes swim and it's like I've gone back in time. I'm suddenly standing in my old room and I look at the calender hanging up my wall. I'm sixteen again and I know what I'm about to do.

I had been thinking this over for well of two months. I wanted to skip my injection this morning and not take it. I had noticed how my mother and father would skip it as well but they didn't know that I knew. I wanted to know why my parents would skip the injection, which wasn't something that was that big of a deal but it didn't mean it was to be taken lightly. I had heard how the Enforcers didn't take the injections or scientists that went to work for AECPC. I had also heard how the doctors would take a big dose of the injection but only before doing a surgery. It was my third year in high school and I was suddenly finding out about a few things that went out in Attica.

The injection that we all had to take was so that it would numb our emotions, not completely, I mean we were mindless and emotionless robots but enough so that we wouldn't have the impulse to do anything rash. The injections would rein in our emotions so that they wouldn't be out of control. Which is why before surgeries, doctors would take them so that emotions wouldn't hinder their consciousness or block out basic knowledge because panic seized them, preventing them to save a person's life when they went under the knife. The Enforcers wouldn't take it because they had trained to keep their emotions and hues in control, especially with their line of work.

I look at myself in my full-length mirror and notice how I'm shorter and have less muscle on me. I look younger, more carefree and happy even though on the inside I'm scared shitless because of what I'm about to do. I've got a stuffed animal in my hand, courtesy of Tyson and I leave my room to go downstairs to get breakfast before leaving for school. I open the door to my room and step into the hallway, getting closer to the stairwell that would lead me to the kitchen. Right before I reach the stairwell is the panel where I would need to press any part of my hand or arm against the screen, feeling a pinch where the injection would given. Just a few more steps and I'll be in front of Anna...I'm scared to the bone thinking of what would happen to me of things went wrong. Would I be given instructions to go to therapy?

As I got closer, my breathing quickened until it completely stopped as I was standing right in front of Anna.

**"Good morning Percy, time for your injection," **Anna greeted me.

"Morning Anna," I answered and hesitated for a second before putting the arm of the teddy bear in my hands against the panel. Faintly, I heard the soft sound of the injection being given.

**"All finished," **Anna said going back to her home screen.

I took the teddy bear away from the panel and stared in disbelief at Anna. She...had completely bought it. It had actually worked? It had actually worked! Today would be my first day without having taken the injection...today I would get to see how different things would be...

In hindsight, I guess I should've known something was off when that happened. I didn't realize then but Anna was a smart system that could tell when someone had gotten their injection or not. For two years I had gone on, not taking the injection and thinking everything was fine. Not for a second did I think that me not taking my injections would have any consequences at all. My parents or friends didn't suspect or see anything different about me. In fact, I didn't even feel any different, except that my true emotions were a lot more powerful and I had to control them so that no one would take notice. Other than that, I felt pretty liberated. In fact, it made me start think about how different things would be like if everyone in Attica didn't take their injections.

It also made me notice a few things. It made me actually open my eyes and see how controlled Attica was, how limited and monitored it was. Things felt a bit too perfect here and a feeling welled deep inside me, coiling as I kept on observing the place I called home. Some of the things we did, I started to question them and I think that was what sort of marked me as a dead man. I started to question our lifestyle and because of that, I believe things went downhill so fast. Two years was enough to change my whole perspective on the life we all lived inside the walls of the city of Attica.

"Well, let's get moving to the shooting range," Jeremy's voice cut through my memory and I stopped punching the punching bag, sweat was running down my back and front, and had accumulated on my forehead. "Let's get going guys."

Everyone stopped what they were doing as well, taking their gear; whatever gear they had on and dropping it in a pile near the double doors. I took off the gloves and wiped my brow with the front of my shirt. I followed after the crowd and went down the stairs. We passed by the living room and went out through a set of doors that led to the patio and the backyard of the house. We made our way to the barn that was a yards away from the house. We had been practicing there since the first week we came here. We learned to shoot and aim the TG guns, they were easy to control and so we barely practiced with them. What we did practice with were actual guns.

"Now, take your positions everyone and remember what I taught you." Jeremy advised us.

We each got in out private little space and I saw that Jeremy already had the targets hung up before us. To my left was a small table and on it were two handguns; a Ruger MK III . 22 LR and the Desert Eagle 44 Magnum. I also had two semi auto rifles; a 12 gauge shotgun and a Ruger 10/22 .22 LR. Jeremy had taught us about the different types of guns, how to clean them and reload. He made us pull them apart just to fix them back up again telling us we had to know every part of the gun.

I picked up the Desert Eagle and as soon as my hand made contact with the cold metal, I felt a surge of power shoot from my hand down my spine. I felt in control, I felt calm and collected. I cocked the handgun, releasing the safety and gripping it tightly, pointing the gun to the direction of the target in front of me. My finger hovered over the trigger. I exhaled slowly as if I was in no rush. All around me I could hear the others firing off their own guns but the sounds were slowly ebbing away, becoming nothing but white noise. I kept both of my hands on the gun steady, made sure I kept my feet planted, my arm muscles were taut as Jeremy had said they needed to be. Once you fired a gun for the first time, the impact of firing it could be enough to knock you off your feet if you weren't being careful.

The first time I had shot a gun here; the gun had felt so damn heavy.

**BAM!**

When I had fired, I felt as if my arms would fall off and I almost lost my footing. The sound had been loud, deafening. I could hear the pounding in my ears for two good minutes before I looked over at the target. I couldn't believe my eyes, straight ahead was the target with one bullet straight to the chest. The perfect shot. I was shocked and as I looked over at Jeremy, who was still inspecting the target, we made eye contact. His eyes were unreadable and I wondered if that was a good thing or bad. I didn't have time to dwell on it for long because he soon smiled a wide smile and made his way over to me, telling me I had potential.

I fired the gun, feeling the aftereffects of shooting it on my arms, I didn't lose my balance anymore and my arms had been worked on to make sure they were strong enough, so they didn't affect me as much as before. My shot landed straight on the target's head and I shot off more rounds. Soon, my gun was empty and I inspected my target, three shots in the head, two in the chest straight where the heart was. I put my handgun down and grabbed the 12 gauge shotgun.

The bigger the gun got, the more powerful the aftereffects. When I had first shot a shotgun I got knocked off my feet and landed on my butt. Not to mention that I didn't even hit the target. My arms hurt so bad I wanted them off my body, my hands ached and I could still feel the vibration in my fingertips as I tried to get feeling back into my hands. My whole being burned with embarrassment but I wasn't the only one to get knocked off my feet. After practicing with the shotgun a few times I finally got used to the effects of firing the gun.

I aimed the shotgun at my next target and again I feel the same powerful feeling inside me. My fingertips ache to pull the trigger, I feel as if an electrical current is passing through me, my hairs stand on end. My heart slows down, calm and controlled as I pull the trigger and feel the gun brought to life in my hands.

**BOOM!**

The effect of it being released is instantaneous, I feel as though my arms have gone slack but I push through it and hold the gun steady. I shot my target, not in the desired place but it wasn't too bad. Compared to how it was before I started, this was improvement.

"Alright, let's give it a rest," Jeremy called out, bringing me out of my daze. "Let's have lunch."

I put the safety on my gun and unload it before putting it back on the table and making my way out of the barn. The air outside is cool, a slight breezing is blowing by making it bearable to be under the sun's heat. We walked back into the house and walked over to the dining room where lunch awaited us. I sat next to Piper as always while Leo was on my other side.

"Dude, you've gotta try the corn," Leo nudged me with his elbow. I looked over at him and saw him stuffing his face with corn on the cob. "It's amazing," he said through mouthfuls of corn.

"Leo, manners," Piper chided him as she got into our conversation.

"Whatever mom," Leo waved her off.

"So Perce, looks like you got better," Piper ignored Leo and turned to me.

"Better at?" I asked her as I started to fill my plate with food.

"You know, better at shooting," she elaborated.

"Oh, yeah I guess I did," I shrugged my shoulders.

"Better? The dude's like a prodigy or something," Leo butt in.

"I'm alright," I try to downplay my skills.

"Alright? Percy you're the best out of all of us," Adam got in the conversation, "you're deadly when you have a gun in your hands." I looked down at my plate, I didn't like the attention I was getting. I usually associated guns with murder and I was no murderer. "Look," Adam spoke to me, as if he could read my mind, "it's not a bad thing, guns aren't bad, if you know how to use them and you're sane in the head, you won't hurt anyone with a gun unless you mean to. Remember that, don't let you potential go to waste. Besides, you never when your talent could come in handy, might even save your life one day."

For some reason I felt as if there was a double meaning to what Adam was saying. I wouldn't hurt anyone with a gun unless I meant to but that wasn't going to happen. I wasn't going to hurt anyone period. But some part of my brain chided me for being foolish. I was now a hound, hurting people would now become my line of work. I was naive if I thought I was never going to hurt anyone. Whether I liked it or not, I was now condemned to live a life where I was free but not truly free and where to survive against those crazy people that roamed Attica, I would need to use everything I had learned here.

After lunch, we go back outside where we run a few laps around the track before having to do the obstacle course Jeremy had set up for us. I start off slowly, only jogging at first as I set up my pace. Regulating my breathing I start to pick up the pace. Soon enough, I'm passing a few of the others by. My mind starts to drift and wander off, thinking about different things. Never settling on something. That is until the memory of a girl with bubblegum pink hair, azure eyes and fair skin pooped into my mind. There she was, my girl, my Danny. She was wearing a blue-green, v-neck t-shirt that was tucked under her black, pleated skirt. She kitty cat stockings; she had just bought them and she absolutely adored them having found them on sale at a thrift shop, and black high-heeled boots. Her pink hair was tied up in a high ponytail and wrapped around her head just before her front bangs was a black bandana.

I was leaning against my car waiting for her to come down from her apartment so that we could leave for the movies. My heart was pounding in my chest because I had an ulterior motive. As I saw her make her way to me, I felt my heart beat just a little faster, she always seemed to have that affect on me. She smiled brightly and wide, showing off her adorable gapped tooth.

"James," she said as soon as she got close enough before kissing me on the lips.

"Hey beautiful, ready to go?" I winked at her, and she giggled softly, a blush rising on her cheeks.

"Yeah, let's go, I'm super excited to see this movie. I read the reviews and so far, everyone is saying it's a good movie to watch. It got a four out of five stars and on the metric scale it was at 87%, not bad at all huh?" Danny was quick to make conversation.

I opened the car door and she slid inside before I went to the driver's side and got in. "Not bad at all," I agreed with her, "good to know I picked out a good movie." I smiled at her.

"Seems like you've got good taste huh?" She teased.

"I like to believe I've got the best taste," I wink at her before starting the car and driving off.

We watched the movie and like she had said, it was pretty good. After that we had dinner where, as we sat together and started to talk about our day my hands started to sweat and I was slowly doubting myself on what I had wanted to ask her, fearing rejection. I mustered whatever courage I had left before I changed my mind and interrupted her.

"And so, it was so funny, I swear I started dying at this part, he-" Danny was laughing as she recounted a story that had happened during work to one of her coworkers.

"Danny?" I call to her.

Danny stops talking and looks at me, "yeah?"

"Um," this was it, no backing down, no chickening out, I swallowed thickly before continuing. "Danny, uh, I-I want to ask if you...um," I inhaled deeply, "if you want to move in with me?" I look her straight in the eyes. "I want you to move in with me and- I think it's- no, I feel like it's time we took our relationship to the next leve-" I was knocked back into my chair as I felt a heavy weight on my chest and lap.

"Oh, James!" Danny squealed, "you're asking me to move in with you? Of course baby, of course I want to move in! I love you James," Danny hugged me tightly, not wanting to let go. People all around us were staring but I couldn't give a damn. I was too damn happy.

I'm climbing a rope up to touch the bell that's hung up on the beam supported by pillars on the side. My arms are on fire by now, I finished the laps and was well halfway through with the obstacle course. How happy I had been before, with Danny by my side. I had fallen in love with her and I regret not going with her when she left the apartment that fateful day. I also regret disappearing right after I caught wind of the news. I packed my things, left the apartment signing off on my lease and laid low. I had met her family before and briefly wondered if they cared about what happened to me.

I didn't go to the funeral, I couldn't. If I did, her family would surely ask questions. My heart broke at the thought of not being able to attend the funeral or not being able to see her once more before she was six feet under. When I heard that her car had crashed and she didn't make it...I lost it. I lost all control and I cried like never before. I felt as if my heart had shattered and I was breaking to pieces all over again.

"Hey Perce, are you okay?" I look to the voice that shook me from my train of thought. It was Luke.

"Huh?" Because I wasn't listening, I was confused as to what he wanted from me.

"I asked if you were okay?" He grunted, a scowl now forming on his face.

"I'm fine, why do you ask?"

"Because, I've seen that look on your face..." Luke looks at me straight in the eye.

Everyone else is doing the obstacle, it's just him and me standing at the finish. I wonder what he means by the look on my face. I guess it was evident on my features that I was confused about what he was talking about because he rolled his eyes and stepped forward just a bit.

"I meant, at night, I've woken up to you having your nightmares and you always have _that _look on your face, as if you thought everything you did was wrong...as if everything was your fault... I'm just asking if you're okay," Luke looked at me, an unreadable expression on his visage.

I swallowed thickly, I thought I had hidden my problems from the others well...if Luke knew, who else knew?

"I'm not going to say anything but...just remember, it wasn't your fault." I looked over at the blond, my eyes wide. "You said you didn't kill your family, so you didn't and I believe you...now. Anyone can see clearly how traumatized you look whenever you think about them, so...it wasn't your fault and don't beat yourself up about it."

My mouth felt like cotton, I felt like I couldn't speak but I summoned whatever I could and gave him a weak smile, "thank you."

Luke was right, it wasn't my fault...at least not directly. But that didn't stop me from feeling guilty about Danny's death. On the day of my arrest, I had been coming back after paying my respects to Danny's grave. It had been a year since her death five days ago when I walked into my apartment and found a note hanging from the ceiling.

_Percy, have you learned nothing? And I would've thought that after the death of your whore you'd know better. You should never get too comfortable...you should have never let your guard down. Now, you're screwed!_

"Percy Jackson! Put your hands in the air, you are under arrest for the murder of Sally Jackson, Poseidon Jackson and Tyson Jackson. You have the right to remain silent-"

_No way...this couldn't be happening..._

"Anything you say or do can be used against you in the court of law. You have the right to an attorney-"

_He did this...he k-killed- he's responsible for... Danny!_

My mind screamed to escape but the Enforcers were already by my side when I finally decided to snap back into the moment. It was done. My fate was sealed. I was heading to my death. And all because of one unknown person screwing with my life. God, you must really have it out for me huh?


	6. Chapter 6 The Hounds Are Back

_Hello everyone! Here is a new chapter to Resistance, again, a big thank you to all of your comments, they mean so much!_

**_Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson and The Olympians_**

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><p><em>Percy<em>

So today is the big day. We are finally going back to the city of Attica where we will be living alongside our Enforcers until who knows how long. I'm not sure how I'm feeling...all I know is, I hope to god that my luck doesn't get any worse than it's already been.

I know for a fact I'm anxious... I'm anxious to see what _his _face and reaction is going to be like after we're left alone in the shared apartment... I'm pretty sure he isn't going to like living with me, after all, he did give me that look right before I was shipped off with the rest of the hounds to Jeremy's place.

Last night we had a dinner, a pretty big dinner at that. Jeremy had said he wanted to celebrate and say goodbyes before we left the next morning, up and early too, and left the place for good. We would not be back at Jeremy's place and we would not be keeping contact with the old man. It was kind of sad, since I had grown a bit fond of him. He somewhat reminded me of like a grandfather figure and he was no longer going to be in touch, I was no longer going to be able to see him and it...well it was sad.

All fifteen of us waited outside of the huge palace we had called home for the month, waiting for the train to come and for Enforcer Bald-Head to come pick us up and take us away from this place. This place where we had honed our skills both physically and mentally, where we had learned everything we could from one awesome teacher. Where we would take the things we learned here and apply them out there, in Attica so that we wouldn't get killed on the job in which we had chosen, for better or worse.

Piper stood next to me, talking about something but I had tuned her out, not because I didn't want to listen to her but because I wanted to take one last look at the place. I wanted to remember this wonderful place. Sure, it had been annoying as hell to get up early every morning and then do some grueling workouts and learn how to fight and shoot, only to go to bed all sore, but it had been liberating. Here, we weren't monitored and I never felt like we were being watched. Here, things seemed more calm and I felt content to stay here. Heck, I wouldn't have minded staying here with Jeremy and helping out the next hounds that would come next time for their training.

"...so I thought it would be a good idea that on the first night when we get back to the city of Attica and we're alone with our Enforcers we should, you know, try to get to know them...maybe, I don't know try to strike up conversation, find common interests..." Piper was saying.

"Yeah, I'm sure it'll be easy for you to do that with your Enforcer," I nodded my head as I tuned her back in.

"Yeah and hey, maybe you could...er, find common ground wi-" Piper started only for me to cut her off.

"I don't think so Pipes, besides, I saw the way he looked at me. I got the feeling he really didn't like me and isn't going to make the effort _to _like me."

Piper closed her mouth and stayed silent for a minute before opening it, but she never to got to say anything because just then, a train was approaching. The small and sleek silver train came to a silent stop in front of us. All fifteen of us looked back toward Jeremy and the old man only smiled kindly at us.

"Well, looks like this is the end of the road for us, I'll be seeing y'all another time...maybe another life," came the cryptic words from the old man. "You kids take care of yourselves and you make sure you remember everything I taught you."

"We will, don't worry old man, we won't forget," John said.

Soon, we all said our goodbyes and slowly marched to the train. As I was picking up my bag, Jeremy came up to me and stopped me.

"Percy," Jeremy said as soon as he reached me.

"Yeah old man?" I looked to Jeremy, a single eyebrow raised.

"Something's special about you boy, you got a natural talent with the gun, it's amazing. And despite that almost everyone blames you for the murder of your family, you have a goodness in your heart...don't let anything change that." Jeremy looked out the fields for a second before turning to look at me, smiling softly.

"What do you mean?" I asked him, my eyebrows furrowing.

What did he mean about a goodness in my heart? And what would make me change?

"You be careful out there son, take good care of yourself."

Just as I was about to say something, Enforcer Hard-Ass shouted in my direction, "hey! Dog, get your ass in this train! Now!"

I grabbed my bag and jogged toward the train, looking back over my shoulder to see Jeremy looking at me, an unreadable look on his visage. Once inside, the doors shut and I made my way to sit next to Piper. As I sat down, Adam gave me a weird look but I shrugged it off, besides, my mind was on other things. What did Jeremy mean when he said to not let anything change my...heart? It didn't make any sense...

I shrugged it off and just put it as Jeremy being well, his unreadable self. I mean, who knew why he did things half of the time. Sitting back and getting comfortable, I let my mind wander off, thinking about old memories.

Like the time I had spent my first New Year's with Danny after my family's murder. I didn't think I could find it in me to be happy once again but it was possible. We had spent Christmas Day together, where I had given her a pair of earrings, sapphire gems. I had saved up my money to get her that present and she loved it, she rarely took those earrings off.

I also remembered the time I had gone to the zoo with Tyson, it was his first time, and my parents. Tyson loved every single part of the zoo and he was so happy that day. His favorite part had been seeing the tigers and watching them laze around. My mom and dad were so happy then too.

There was that time my dad had taught me to drive. He wore a life-vest while I drove and it was the most ridiculous thing ever, mom had a picture of it hung up on the fridge. She died laughing when she saw my dad come out of the car looking all pale; I wasn't even that bad of a driver! My dad exaggerated.

So many happy memories...kind of wish I could go back in time just so...I wouldn't live in this time. My situation sucked, big time. I was alone in this world...I was alone and I was probably going to die alone too. Sure, I mean, I had friends...with the other hounds I met but...I would probably leave this earth alone with no one who truly loved me. It kind of made all of those happy memories just sting a little.

My nightmares were getting worse...first it had been about Danny but now...it was also about my family. I didn't know how to handle them, didn't even know why all of a sudden I was getting them now? I chalked it up to me being on the run for three years and not being able to really have the time to come to terms with either of their deaths. Either way, those dreams freaked me out by how vivid and real they sometimes felt or seemed.

I shook my head, I needed to stop thinking so pessimistically. I had gotten a second chance at life. I could've ended up in prison with daily doses of medication coming my way to keep my sane...or insane more like it. I could have failed that exam...

I thought back to my luck these past three years since my escape from my old house. Marisol had helped me escaped and as luck would have it, knew of some people who would take me the rest of the way. Adam had given me advice on how to get jobs without needing more than just my birth certificate, no fingerprints needed. He had given me tips on how to lay low and to always keep moving while Leo had fixed me up with tech that helped me get around the city. I had met Danny on a stroke of luck and we had spent a wonderful, loving year together...

All of this...was luck...unimaginable luck. It was both good and horribly bad luck, but luck either way. And it all came to end...because of one sick person. Who that person was, I had no idea but I had heard his voice...that had to count for something, right? I could try to look for the sick bastard...now that I was officially a hound. Certainly I could gain some sort of connections to help me find the one responsible for the deaths of everyone I ever cared about. I mean, I was going to be working on some cases that no doubt could very well lead me to that one person. Right then and there, I vowed to get revenge on that bastard who murdered my family and my love. I was going to get my revenge.

My head started to pound and I thought maybe I should rest while on this train ride back to civilization. I sank down lower in my seat, I didn't want to think about anything or anyone and decided, why not have a little nap. Closing my eyes, I didn't expect to fall asleep so quick but I did. I also didn't expect to see those eyes in my dreams.

Those dark brown eyes...that soft (I could only imagine how soft it was and god, did I hate myself for even wanting so badly to touch it) porcelain skin, that dark, black hair...what the actual fuck? Was I _really _dreaming about this guy right now? Seriously? I was going to have to live with him for who knows how long. I was going to have to see his ugly mug (okay, so he's not ugly and I'm just being mean) every day and the only escape from him is in my dreams but even then I see him there? Just what the hell is up with my head? _Seriously?_

Was fate trying to be funny?

In my dream, he was standing before me, but his face...for some reason in looked scared, frightened. The angle in which I was looking at him made me feel as if I was laying down or something. He came closer to me and although his voice was a bit muffled, I still heard how shaky he sounded.

"Percy, _please, please _tell me you're okay..." a sob broke out of him and for some odd reason, I felt the strong urge to comfort him. "I'm sorry...so sorry...so sorry...so sor-"

_Why are you sorry? _

I had wanted to ask but I couldn't voice out my question, my tongue felt like dead weight inside my mouth. I wanted to ask him why it looked like he was close to crying, why was he repeating sorry for? Why did he look scared? Why was worried about me? I snorted, this has got to be some joke right? Something was wrong and was messing with my dreams...that had to be it...no way would he ever cry over me. No way. Yet, as I continued to dream, I could see him reaching out and just before he touched my cheek, I could practically feel myself stirring a bit at the thought of him touching me.

...cy...

No, stop it, he hated me, I needed to stop thinking about him and yet...

...rcy...

Here he was, looking at me with such sadness.

..ercy...

Oh god, how I remember seeing him the first time.

...Percy..

All I wanted to do was kiss him on the li-

"Percy? Wake up, we're almost there." I heard a familiar voice call after me.

Soon, the image of Nico di Angelo was starting to disappear and he was fading out of my mind, and with it, came some form of disappointment.

"Percy?" It was Piper, she was calling me.

I groaned out loud as I slowly opened my bleary eyes. "Yes?" My voice sounded thick with sleep.

"We're almost there...we're almost back to the city of Attica."

Great. Time to meet with my Enforcer...

I ignored some small part of me that felt excited at seeing him once again. I ignored it and denied it, hell would freeze over before I ever admitted to being happy to see him again.

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><p><em>Nico's POV<em>

"All I'm doing is challenging you to a duel... or what? You're too much of a pansy to take me on?" Rose smirked my way, teasing me.

"You're going to lose," I say before shoving a fork-full of waffles in my mouth.

"Says you," she snorts.

Rose and I worked on three more cases after our first one was a success. The black haired girl quickly became a friend of mine and of my other friends as well. We had hung out a couple of times since then, slowly becoming close, close enough for her to figure out me and Will had a thing going on. She would tease me endlessly, today was no exception. But despite her teasing and the comfortable atmosphere around us, my mind was on other things.

Ever since I read that note that proved that somehow, someone got into my apartment to write me that creepy note...I didn't feel safe. Not anymore. I felt paranoid and on edge most of the time. I felt like as if I was being watched and I hated that feeling. I recalled the words on that paper as Rose talked about how excited she was about this new book she was ordering in from the States, apparently asking Gaea for permission, which of course was granted.

_...nothing but a servant...doing whatever the big boss tells you to do..._

Nothing but a servant? How dare that person...the insult! And 'big boss'? What was that about? Was he talking about Gaea? Why, she was nothing short of good and kind, an amazing human being.

_...which is why...you'll never see me coming!_

What did the person mean by that? See them coming...? What was this mad person going to do? Was he going to come straight after me? Or Gaea? Or both? Was he going to make a direct hit for the both of us? What did we ever do to that person? We had done nothing wrong! Well, if the person was so foolish as to come and face me head on then let them, I was not afraid. And yet, that small warning...had frightened me. Deep down, it had scared me to the bone because an unseen force that had plans was going to be difficult to deal with, it had scared me because for one thing, I had no idea who I was dealing with...

_...you'll never see me coming!_

We'll never see you coming? That's what you think! My thoughts darkened as I continued to curse whoever it was that had wrote me that note, try whatever they would like, nothing was going to work. I was going to end this little game of theirs. So lost in my thoughts I had been that I barely registered the small shake of my right shoulder and the call of my name.

"Hey, Nico? Nico? Hello?" Rose's voice brought me back to the present and I looked her way. "Finally, I was calling your name for what seemed like eternity..." her brown eyes regarded me for a second, and I thought she was going to question me about what was wrong or what was going on. Instead, however, she merely shook her head and got off the chair of the table we were sitting at. "Anyway, we've gotta go, remember, we have to pick up the hounds."

"R-right." I agreed and quickly got up from my seat. We paid for our breakfast and left to walk down to the AECPC building just two blocks down.

As soon as Rose mentioned that the hounds were coming back, I felt a rush run through my body and I didn't know why. Soon, the image of the hound who was to be my partner came flooding back to my mind. I gritted my teeth not wanting to go back to thinking about _him_, unfortunately, my mind wouldn't listen. I went back to the day on the train in what almost seemed like years ago, where I had looked at him, for I had felt someone staring at me, and came face to face with the most intense pair of eyes I had ever seen. His eyes were the color of the sea, they were light and seemed playful yet they had an undertone of being dark and mysterious, as the ocean was prone to being since it was ever-changing. I looked straight at him as he fixed me with a, dare I say, warm, almost friendly gaze. It almost felt like he was trying to communicate with me, silently. His features flushed as I kept on staring until I could take no more and looked away.

I didn't know what compelled me to keep on staring, or why I had felt it almost impossible to rip my eyes away from him but I shrugged off the feeling. There was nothing to this, nothing at all.

Walking into the building, I saw most of my colleagues waiting inside except for Jason, Frank Zhang; a well toned, brown eyed Asian with black hair that was cropped short and Hazel Levesque; a short, hazel eyed and honey brown haired African American woman. The last three finally walked in together and all fifteen of us made our way to the elevators. Separating so that we could all fit as we made our way to the roof. Once there, there were two helicopters waiting for us and we all boarded them, where it slowly lifted off and made its way to the pick up center where the hounds would be waiting for us.

As we got closer, I couldn't help but somewhat squirm in my seat...I felt unable to keep still. It wasn't that I was excited, not at all but, somehow, the idea of seeing him again...

_excited me_

...made me want to go back to my apartment and throw darts at his picture, for some inane reason, he really got under my skin. In truth, I wanted nothing to do with him and never wanted to ever have anything to do with him ever again. Unfortunately, I had to live with him for three years...and he would be the first hound I would take in, since I was still a novice on the job. In fact, for the lot of us here, this would also be their first time taking in a hound. I briefly wondered what everyone was thinking, seeing as how quiet they were and they were usually a lively bunch. The helicopters landed, and we all got out, making our way to the elevators. We passed by another helicopter that was going back with us to the AECPC.

As the elevators descended down, I felt my heart start to hammer in my chest. This was it, waiting outside for us would be the hounds. How different would they be compared to the last time we saw them. I completely denied the part of me that asked how much _he _had changed within the month he spent training...why the hell was my heart pounding so damn hard in my chest? And why the hell was I curious to see how he had changed? We stepped out, with the other elevator opening up just two seconds after ours. All of us made our way outside, passing by offices and the workers in the building.

The doors opened up to reveal the small train was outside, looking as if it had just gotten there. Talk about perfect timing. The doors opened up to reveal the hounds that had been sent away. One by one, they all came out, and subconsciously I found myself searching for him...why I was even looking for him baffled me. Soon, I felt my heart rate pick up as we made eye contact. All the warmth he had given me back in the train a month ago was gone and from the look he gave me, it was as if he loathed me...not that cared, really. It was going to be a pleasure making his life a living nightmare, whenever I could. From the corner of my eye, I saw Rose make her way towards them, a piece of paper in her hands.

"Alright, the hounds who already know their partners, step forward and make your way to them." As the hounds made their way to us, the others were left looking around their surroundings, Rose continued to talk, "and now, the ones who don't their partners, stay put, when I call your name and number, you make your way to your partner." She cleared her throat and proceeded to read the names off the piece of paper in her hand. "John Mitchell, number _29493, _your partner is Hazel Levesque." As John made his way to Hazel, Rose read the next name. "Joanna Mellano, number _84949, _your partner is Frank Zhang. Mason Hastings, number _29494, _your partner is Dakota Johnson. Noah Montgomery, number _58647, _your partner is Mike Collins. And Beth Copeland, number _39589, _your partner is Octavian Castellan."

I looked up to see Octavian looking straight at his hound, meanwhile Rose's hound, Luke kept staring at his brother. The same was going on with Apollo and Will, and although Adam seemed to act aloof, he was also looking to Rose. Except unlike Will or Octavian, Rose gave a small, barely noticeable smile to Adam, which had him smiling just a bit. Since I was too busy studying the three different pairs of siblings, I didn't notice how close he was standing next to me, the dog. It wasn't until we were making our way back inside, that I almost bumped into him, that I noticed he was following my lead, walking close behind.

Once we entered the elevators, I was fully aware, because of how cramped it felt now that there were more people, of how close he was standing next to me. It made me feel claustrophobic and made the hairs at the back of my neck stand on end. I felt like he was watching me, studying me or something of the like, probably trying to get a feel of how I was or something. I wanted nothing more than to get out of the stuffy and cramped space, and be back at my apartment already..._our _apartment. I felt a tinge of bitterness on my tongue as I had to say _our _apartment since I would now have to live with him.

Stealing a peek from the corner of my eye confirmed my suspicions of him watching me. Somehow, that made a small tingle of rush shoot through my spine, making my heart beat just a little faster. Why in the world was I acting this way? I felt completely out of control and I didn't like it. Not to mention I didn't like how he seemed to throw me off balance with every move he made. Control yourself Nico, this is nothing but routine and will be nothing but routine from now on. Especially after the three years are up.

The doors finally - _gratefully _- opened up and I all but shoved away the people around me, trying to get out. Once I was outside, I inhaled a breath of fresh air and rubbed a hand down my face.

_Get it together._

Slowly, I opened up my eyes to see _him _looking at me, tilting his head slightly to the left, a confused expression on his stupid face. I glared at him as I shoved past him and made my way to the helicopter. I could hear him - more like feel him - trudging after me. Boarding the helicopter, I sat down near the window seat and felt him sit next to me. I was _not _going to be looking at him, besides, I didn't like him anyway. I know I was being childish but I'll be damned if I let this fool make me feel as if the world was spinning and never going to stop. Once everyone boarded the helicopters, one by one, they headed back to the AECPC.

I could literally feel him breathing down my neck as he craned his head to see out the window. This must be his first time on a helicopter, no wonder it made such an impression on him. Pleh, whatever, I didn't care. I just wanted to go home and ignore him for the rest of the year.

In no time, we were back at the AECPC building where we all got out, we really were an impressive bunch, there were so many of us, and walked to the elevators. Soon enough, we were back on ground level and everyone was starting to dissipate, each hound going with their Enforcers, I even saw Will flirting with his new hound. I rolled my eyes, a small smile tugging at the corners of my lips, he has no shame. I quickly looked over to my hound and grunted.

"Follow me," I said curtly, not looking to see if he was following me I began to walk, leading to the outside of the building where I had my car parked. I took out my car keys and unlocked the doors, sliding inside the vehicle and starting as he quickly climbed in. Soon, I was driving down my apartment, and in a total of five minutes I was parking in front of the familiar building.

Quickly getting out, and again not even bothering to see if he was following me still, I walked up the steps to the apartment complex, walking inside and touching the button for the elevator. I could feel him not a second later standing next to me, waiting patiently for the elevator to come. I was really not looking forward to being an enclosed space with only him, it would only be awkward.

And I was right, it felt completely awkward and uncomfortable as the elevator slowly - could it be any slower! - made its way to my floor. I swear when the small _ding _came on, signifying that the doors were opening, I almost sang hallelujah. Talk about not being able to breathe. I made my way to my door and took out my keys. Before opening my door though, I turned around to face my hound and took out another set of keys.

"These keys are yours," I said as I handed them to my hound, "you have a set for my car, which we will be sharing in case I ever feel lazy to drive or I'm injured or you want to drive when we go out on cases, when you need to borrow it to do some shopping and whatnot. You have set for the front door of my building and then to this door of course and you have a set to my office, since we will be working together, you have your own office which is within mine in another room. Now, you have received new sets of clothes, if you ever want to buy more you can since you now have a bank account since you'll be earning money from working as a hound. Other than that," I grated my teeth for the sentence I was about to say next, "welcome home."

He looked at me with an unreadable expression, before quietly - and speaking to me for the first time too - saying, "thank you."

Opening the door, I let him step through as I walked in behind him. He looked around the place with some sort of wonder to his features, as if he couldn't believe he now had an official home. Well, with all those years on the run, I guess he never really stayed in one place for too long and so didn't actually have a place to call - and feel like - home. He did stay with that Danny girl for a year though, some part of my brain thought back...why the hell did I even remember that small, insignificant detail? I shook my head, god, I needed to be alone for a minute to gather my thoughts.

"You said, kind of, to make myself at home right?" Came the tentative question that jarred me from my thoughts.

I looked to the green eyed bastard for a minute before answering, not really pleased with the answer I was about to give, and said, "yeah, this is your home...for at least three years that is. Then, you can decide, if the higher ups at the AECPC think of you as trustworthy, if you want to continue living here or if you'd like to move out of this place and into your own apartment."

"Oh, okay," he shook his head. The opened his mouth, "and my clothes are in...my bedroom, right?"

"Yeah," I answered, growing somewhat irritated, "your bedroom is to the left of the hallway and mine is to the right, the kitchen is over there," I said, pointing to the kitchen, "dining room over there, right next to the kitchen, obviously this is the living room and you have your own bathroom." I was about to take my leave when he asked another goddamn question.

"And what's behind that door?" I turned around to see where he was pointing at and saw him pointing to my dojo.

"That," I snapped before reeling in my irritation, "is my dojo. Don't go in there without my knowledge, do I make myself clear, hound?"

"Yes," he nodded his head.

"Good."

"Percy." Came the quiet sound that had me turning to face him, again.

"What?" I asked, although I knew what he meant by that. I could see the annoyance on his face, he didn't like the fact that I had called him _hound_.

"I meant to say, that I have a name, and it's not _hound_, it's Percy. Percy Jackson. And you're Nico di Angelo."

"I'm not going to be calling you by your name, to me, you're just a hound, nothing more. So get used to it _dog_," I smirked as I saw his petulance grow.

"I don't like being called that." He said, defiantly.

"Well too bad, I refuse to call you anything else."

"If it's the last thing I do," he started to show less displeasure at not getting his way, and seemed to be smirking, "I'm going to make you say my name." His eyes seemed alight with some sort of fire. Giving me a challenge, since I most certainly never going to call him by his name, he meant nothing to me, I nodded my head minutely to accept it.

_Try your hardest hound, _I thought as we continued to stare each other down, _I will never call you by your name._

God, those eyes...were mesmerizing...I couldn't look away even if I wanted to. I needed to leave, go to my room and leave this hound out here. I shouldn't even be staring at him but goddamn if he didn't make it hard to pull away. His eyes were intense and I felt myself almost drowning in the ocean that was his eyes...did he know what kind of affect he could have on people?

Suddenly, there was a knock on my -our- door that had us both turning to look at it. Another knock and the dog started to make his way to open it. When he did, I could make out a faint outline of a familiar face.

"Nico?" I heard the familiar voice of Rose that had me walking up to her.

I came into view and gave her a small half-smile, "hey Rose, what's up?" I ignored the dog's gaze and stubbornly looked ahead at my friend, I noticed the blond guy, Luke, the brother of Octavian with her, standing behind her. "Come in," I motioned for her to come inside and her dog followed her. Closing the door, I saw her sitting on the couch in the living room. I followed suit and my hound sat near me, god I hated that.

"We've got another case to work on, and this time it seems super bad. There's been a murder at this factory in the outskirts of Attica and that's just the third one in three weeks." Rose explained.

"Well, why haven't we known about this sooner?" I asked.

"Well because the owner thought for sure that it was the machine that the workers use in the factory that had killed the other men but now, he's not so sure. We've gotta go check it out."

"Yeah, no kidding," I shook my head. "Where's the dossier?" I asked Rose and she handed me a file that contained the information I needed to read before going into this case. I skimmed over the file, telling myself I would re-read it while on the drive there and then handed it to my hound. He took it and read over the contents of the dossier. "Okay, when should we leave?" I asked Rose.

"The sooner the better, so pack your things and in about twenty minutes, we should be good to go." She said as she started to get up and walked to my door, her hound behind her, following her. He seemed to sulking for some reason. "I'll go back to our apartment to get our stuff ready and we'll meet back here. I'll be in my car and you and in yours. See you then." With that, she left my apartment and I was left alone with the hound once more.

"So," he said slowly, "this is my first case, any advice?" He asked as he exhaled deeply.

"Yeah, stay out of my way," I turned to look at him and saw him frown at my answer. "You said to give you advice." I shrugged my shoulders.

"And here I thought you would be more mature than this Nico," he whistled under his breath and I felt my cheeks flame up at the insinuation.

"I'm being serious, when we're investigating, stay out of my and Rose's way. Think of yourself as like the muscle, for now, learn how Rose and I do things and keep it in memory. After a while, you'll get the hang of things, now, let's go dog." I said as I made my way to my room to pack my things, "get ready."

"It's Percy," I heard him mutter.

I had a feeling that this investigation was going to have some major complications...


End file.
